In the children’s picture book Miss Rumfius by Barbara Cooney Alice is a young woman who travels the world. When she grows up, she lives in a villa by the sea and spends her days scattering lupine seeds to make the world a more beautiful place.
The cover of this award-winning story shows Alice, Miss Rumfius, kneeling in front of lupine spots in the woods.
As shown in this childhood classic, lupines also grow wild in many places, including here in New Brunswick. They appear in fields and ditches and are also planted by people who want to bring the beauty of these purple and pink flowers to their own backyards.
In the children’s classic Miss Rumfius, by Barbara Cooney, lupine seeds are scattered to make the world a more beautiful place. (Penguin Random House)
But with beauty comes many other problems, not all of which are helpful.
Lupins are considered an invasive species, according to Christine Elton, program director at the New Brunswick Invasive Species Council.
“Everyone sees it as a very iconic species from the East Coast,” Elton told Shift New Brunswick, but the plant is actually from the west coast of North America.
“And the reason it creates a problem is that it can penetrate areas and just take power. So it’s one of those invasive plants that multiplies very fast.”
This is a problem, Elton said, because lupines use up resources from other plants. On the other hand, they are what she calls a nitrogen-fixing plant, which means that they take nitrogen from the atmosphere and eventually put that nitrogen into the soil.
Christine Elton of the New Brunswick Invasive Species Council says the lupine is an invasive species with a mixed reputation. (Submitted by Christine Elton)
“We need nitrogen. It is one of the building blocks of life. And it can actually help improve soil quality. So this is an advantage. It can also be used to control erosion in some places, Elton said.
Another sign from lupine professionals? Bees love them.
But on the downside?
“There are studies that show that we see reduced plant biodiversity and reduced butterfly species in areas that have been attacked by lupines.”
And these are hardy plants, which is why you see them clustered in ditches and along the road. They do not need good, nutritious soil to reproduce.
For backyard gardeners who yearn for their wild appeal, lupines can be grown from seed. George Scott of Scott’s nursery in Fredericton said lupine has always been popular with gardeners, but surprisingly, some told him they had trouble getting the plants to grow.
George Scott from Scott’s Kindergarten in Fredericton. (Submitted by George Scott / Facebook)
“If they have reasonable light, you know, they love the sun and with reasonable light and soil you would start them from seed relatively easily. Or you could, you know, do a transplant.
“We sell a lot of different colors,” Scott said. Along with the deep blue and purple, “you’ll get the yellow and the two colors.”
Scott also points out, as Elton does, that plants have some benefits, along with providing beauty to the observer.
“Sometimes they use them to rebuild the ground, for example, where they might have dug a sod or something.
Lupines may be on the list of invasive ones, but Elton says don’t worry. The Invasive Species Council will not ask you to eradicate them.
Bees love lupins, but Elton said there are studies showing reduced plant biodiversity and reduced butterfly species in areas that have been attacked by lupines.
“There is such a connection with lupines in the region,” she said.
“I don’t think it will go well if we tell everyone to get rid of their shells,” she said. The council just wants people to be aware of some of the flaws that go hand in hand with their beauty.
Miss Rumfius would approve.
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