Big Leaf Lupine

Click on photo to enlarge
Lupinus polyphyllus is commonly known as Big Leaf Lupine or Blue-Pod Lupine.
This one was started from seed sewn directly in the garden two years ago and last year it was over four feet tall.
I only had about five seeds and I planted them in a line along the base of our large boulder bird bath where they would benefit from whatever water spilled over.
Lupine seeds are known to be quite hard-shelled so I decided to nick the shells of two of them with the edge of a file. I planted those two toward the same end of the row and they're the only two that germinated.
One of them died after the first year but the second seems to be thriving.
Here you see this spring's new leaves pushing up near last year's deadheaded stems.
By the way, I leave the stalks on my native plants throughout winter, and don't harvest all the seeds from them, leaving some for animal/insect/bird foraging and natural seed dispersal. Also there might be insect or butterfly eggs attached, so when I do finally cut them in late winter/early spring I keep them in a debris pile for another month or so which provides shelter, food & cover for any little critters living there.