Lupine or lupin from the Latin word “lupus” meaning wolf, although I can't see anything wolf-fish about this stunning beauty.

Previously, I wrote about nitrogen-fixing plants. Plants that take nitrogen from the air and “fix” it to be available for plants as fertilizer.  Since then, this lupine has started blooming. It's been in the ground for at least one year and this is the first time it's blooming.

Lupine (Lupinus spp.)  is in the Fabaceae family of plants; the same family as the nitrogen-fixing beans and peas. Lupins are mostly perennials, but some are annuals. They range in size from 1 ft to large shrubs taller than 8 ft. The flower colors are white, yellow, or purple. They grow in dry, infertile soil.

It's a good companion plant in the garden. It fixes nitrogen. It's beautiful on its own yet it blends well with other elements in the garden.