Got Lupine?

One of my favorite spots at the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail is the sand prairie and especially my lupine garden there.

I’m crazy about lupine — I love the color, texture, shape, fragrance — and it is the primary habitat for the Karner Blue Butterfly.

I was a pretty dedicated and serious volunteer with the Wisconsin DNR for around 17 years and spent over 6 years from 2011 -2017 working at the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail and the nearby Ottawa Lake Fen State Natural Area. One of my favorite projects there was cultivating the native lupine patches on the sand prairie and that entailed digging out hundreds of spotted knapweeds, and removing buckthorn, honeysuckle, box elder, red oak and cherry seedlings. Without continued attention, the sand prairie will turn into a brush thicket.

I retired from my volunteer efforts to focus on regaining my health, and, as I knew it would, nature is quickly erasing my efforts. Still, it was fun while it lasted: to have the freedom to landscape garden on a huge scale at the Scuppernong Springs and Ottawa Lake Fen.

Here are a few pictures from my visit today to my lupine garden on the sand prairie at the
Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail.