This week… lupins

LUPINS are annual, perennial or sometimes shrubby plants in the pea family, with two-lipped flowers similar to sweet pea and pole beans, and available in a wide variety of bright and pastel colours. Their roots have the valuable capacity to trap nitrogen from the air, so enriching the fertility of the soil.

Most have divided leaves with anything from 5-25 ‘fingers’, and a few have attractive silvered foliage. The flowers are carried in spikes with the flowers spread around the stems. The spikes may be short and sparse or long and densely packed.

Beware of the seeds

Some have seeds the size of broad beans, or larger, while others have seeds like small lentils. The