The lupine are here at last.  When we moved in there was a lawn area on the east side of the house. It wasn’t great grass anyway and burned out in the summer.  It seemed like a waste to mow it so we stopped.  There were lots of lupine in the garden so we took the seed pods and scattered them over the area.  The next year they came up and year after year the meadow changed.  More lupine grew and so did lots of other things.. some good and some bad.  We have it mowed once a year in November and knock the whole thing down.  We do mow a winding path through it (a la Sissinghurst in England).  This allows me to get up close with the plants and less of a chance I may encounter my least favorite creepy crawlies.  I wouldn’t say this is the best lupine year we’ve had, but its pretty nice.  If you live nearby.. come over and stroll the meadow..