Baptisia

Arguably these herbaceous perennials are superior to the traditional lupins. Relatively easy to grow, with potentially good drought tolerance. They can be used as a back drop plant, or specimen plants in a sunny border. Upright stems, gently creating a vase-like shape, are clothed in neat foliage and topped with racemes of pea-like flowers. They tend to hold their shape after flowering. With much breeding of cultivated forms in the USA, new colour combinations are becoming available. Often bi-coloured flowers, emerging from a contrasting bud. An up-and-coming group of plants.

As with most pea flowers, those of baptisia are much used by visiting bumblebees, large hoverflies and other insects. In their native North America, the leaves are also eaten by moth caterpillars and that is likely to be the case here at least amongst certain generalist feeders.