I have never had lupines before, so I might come here later for questions on growing them. But as far as germination goes, here is my experience. I have used a small gravy bowl made of stainless steel (thought I'd use something non reactive) to soak the seeds. I did not do any of the recommended things like freezing or chilling them or scarifying them. I have tried these techniques before for a variety of plants and I simply find them too intense - I don't think to check the fridge all the time to take them out of there just in time. Too much effort to keep track of that, I guess. Besides, if these plants have survived so long in the wild without scarification and such, that is because they don't actually need those extra steps. So, back to the gravy bowl. I added half an inch of water and popped fifteen seeds into it right out of the packet. I left them in the water and checked the bowl once a day. It took about a day for one of fifteen seeds to swell. I sowed that one right away, but I was still left with fourteen more that were just soaking there. A few days later, three more swelled, so I planted those, too. Yet another few days later, another four swelled, and some of them actually had a tiny white root sticking out on the side. I sowed these, too. By this time, the seeds have been soaking for a week. But I just let them be. A few days later, all but three of the remaining seeds swelled and showed a tiny root. I planted these, too. All the ones I planted went into 2" soil blocks on a capillary mat and later into 4" pots. I am happy to report that they have all sprouted and are now handsome young plants without any sign of disease or lack of nutrients. They are growing quite fast, too. So, to sum it up, I find that the best way to germinate lupine seed is to soak it until it swells and/or has a root sticking out and then either plant them in their final spots or plant them to raise as seedlings. Don't worry if they soak for weeks on end, they will eventually sprout and they will not rot. Just make sure they are always covered by water, so you may have to top the water up once in a while (mine are relatively close to a fan, so the water does evaporate). You can easily distinguish seed that is about to sprout from seed that still needs time. The ones that are going to sprout swell to about two to three times their size very quickly (within about 24 hours). They look like little beans that would be excellent to eat (but they are poisonous, so please resist the temptation to eat them).

Hi Sue, I'm Steven I'm just now beginning to catch up over on the discussion side and wanted to encourage/enable/welcome you too. Sounds like you have an excellent start if Cottage is the style you want to go. Keep in mind that "Cottage Style" is a big-tent style of gardening. Rules are bendable. The only thing that cottage truly is, is the antithesis of formal. The rest is gravy. Welcome! Steven

The Ring is an opera, I think, not wanting to speak for Carol. But my question was going to be, why see it several times in a row? Must be a great show. I don't know Opera at all. If it means shoes that hurt my feet, I'm not going. Earthly I love your dog from photos I've seen and hope it's just a passing minor malady. Pet her and love her up lots and be assured that she's in our thoughts. Same goes for your son and his arm- the Summer of Pain- for him in a cast. I broke my collarbone when I was about 8 and couldn't swim all summer, it was such a bummer. Hope it has healed well and he can cry FREEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM soon. Earthly, wouldja mind being reeeeeeeeeal careful cutting up all those delicious sounding vegetables from your garden. (You sound like Kay Scarpetta from the books by Patricia Cornewell, whipping up some wonderful adlib italian sauce in her kitchen.) You only get ten fingers to type with you know, and we'd miss you terribly if you couldn't post due to kitchen amputations. Enough of that talk.... So, to be clear, you would serve tomato gravy on pasta, or with meat and pasta? We'd call that marinara sauce. Stephanie, by all means dahlias come in shorter sizes 1-3 feet is easy. Here are a couple of my 'shorties' equally delightful as the taller ones. Aurwen's Violet, bright purple little pompon ( round) only 2.5- 3 ft tall A favorite from Lowes! Impression Fantastico- blooms its fool head off all season long, the more you cut, the more it sprouts: Pearson's Michelle- a prolific little medium orange pompon that would look absolutely marvelous with your posted orangish dahlia. Mine is slow this year and I sure miss its many blooms. Jack O Lantern 3 ft tall, variable orange/yellow collarette- so cute! And one of my current favorites: Kari Dancer- pink/yellow cactus on 3 ft bush Natal- a really dark red, almost black in the center: Karras 150 a lovely white cactus on 3 foot plant: Brookside J Cooley a real champ in the top Fabulous Fifty of dahlias of all time: I finally didn't kill it this year! Foxy Lady, Kind of maroon and yellow, fades to more medium pink- lots of blooms on 3 foot plant. Just one more, I swear! check out the coloration on these petals. It looks just like the deep pink is painted on a canvas of white. This one rotted in our cold wet spring, much to my dismay. Fascination: Are you sorry you asked yet? LOL! There are probably 5,000 more to choose from in the short height range; I just don't have them- yet. There are plenty of what are called "bedding dahlias" too: kind of like mums, many many blooms on a 18-24 inch bush; not so good for cutting, but great to line a path or sidewalk. Oh I can hardly wait til dawn to get out to the gardens! Everybody have a great weekend and think good thoughts for Earthly's poochy, Shirley's son's Kerry, and Dusty in absentia (come back and check in Dusty!), and all those healing from one ailment or another.

Lots of shelf stable milk products available and milk does freeze well. As does small containers of greek yogurt. I keep a stash of powdered goat and buttermilk. Rarely use it. I like to use blendered roasted vegetables for a thickener in soups and gravies. Alex Guarnaschelli uses roasted veg (blendered) in her holiday gravy...no flour. Lock-down i purchased a big 4-5 pound bag of riced cauliflower. Cheap. Went through it quickly. (i don't think MrSleeve even knew i was using it) Cooked in stock with celery, onion, and some cubed roasted butternut or acorn squash makes a nice 'cream' when blendered. I added a few dried soaked wild mushroom for this years vegan gravy. (have not needed to cook vegan/gluten free since holidays 2018). Made a veg stock and a couple pints of veg gravy last weekend for thanksgiving and x-mas. A few pints of veg stock for wild rice/mushroom stuffing/dressing. My sister will eat eggs, tamari, tahini, miso, some grains/rice and certain beans. All the seeds. Some hard goat cheeses. No other dairy. So not difficult to make flavorful dishes. I'm sure a good low/no carb risotto can be done. I would finish with a good nutty romano instead of a heavy dairy cream. I doubt i would attempt risotto for either family having this seasons meals already maped out. My sister is chill about making her own meals if mine does not fit her diet. I accomadate for the main holiday meals. Same with MrSleeves family. I have a half dozen HoneyNut squashes in cold storage. Acorn and delicatta. Looking for recipe ideas i came across this risotto. Not a bad primer recipe for a creamy risotto without the carbs. Replacing the riso with creamy veg.