Lupinus albifrons

Silvery, fragrant, and unmistakably California, Lupinus albifrons is a native lupine with soft, moonlit foliage and dreamy spires of blue to lavender-purple blooms. Also known as Silver Bush Lupine, this shrubby perennial forms a handsome mound of silky, silver-gray leaves that looks beautiful even before the flowers arrive.

In bloom, Silver Bush Lupine becomes pure coastal-meadow romance, sending up fragrant pea-like blossoms that bees and butterflies happily visit. It is a gorgeous choice for native plant gardens, dry slopes, sunny borders, pollinator plantings, and wild California-style landscapes where texture and toughness matter just as much as flower power.

Plant Lupinus albifrons in full sun with excellent drainage, and avoid rich, soggy soil or heavy summer watering once established. Pair it with California poppies, buckwheats, native sages, yarrow, penstemons, and grasses for a luminous, water-wise planting. Elegant but untamed, this lupine brings silver foliage, violet blooms, and a little wild hillside poetry to the garden.

Allow plenty of room for its mature 3–5-foot frame and resist the urge to over-improve its soil. This is a plant whose silver leaves, rounded form, and fragrant spring flower spikes look most convincing when given space to behave like a small wild shrub. Explore our Perennial Lupines collection.