My favourite flower

A financial website I use requires me to answer a "secret question" before I can gain access.

 I have several options. One of the choices is "What is your favourite flower?"

 The answer I entered when I registered is LUPIN.

 It's not necessarily my favourite, but it was the first I learned to identify when I was knee high to a grasshopper. Mum struggled to have a flower garden in our back garden (yard in the U.S.A), but it was hard work in a small west facing area which was also a play area for the children.

 But one or two lupines defied the odds, and they fascinated me (at aged 4 ?)

 Maybe I was fascinated by the unusual shape of the blossoms, or of the unusual leaves, (who knows the mind of a four year old?) 

 But I am still fascinated by Lupines (which do not flourish in the semi-tropical climate of  South West Florida).
Wild Lupines in California.  I have been fortunate enough to see these in full bloom alongside the highway.

Lupines in California alongside California Poppies

Cultivated  Lupines in the U.K.

Lupine leaves, (digitals?)

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