Hi, Gosia. Your questions about pumpkins and lupine are great!. Yes, the plant with the black seed pods is Lupinus. There are many varieties, both cultivated and wild, but this one looks pretty much like a cultivated variety, perhaps one of the Russell hybrids. When the seed pods have turned black and very dry, you can open them and collect the seed to replant. They are rather like pea seeds (in fact, lupines are a legume like peas). Lupines are a short-lived perennial, usually dying out after a few years, so it is good to replant them. Sometimes they will do so themselves, but you can help them along. Here is a link to a good tutorial on cultivating lupines and starting them from seed. http://www.dontveter.com/howtogrow/lupipoly.html. You may not get the same color as the plant you took the seed from, depending on whether the plant is a hybrid or species.

As for the pumpkins, if they are only tennis-ball sized now, they will not get much bigger – in fact, they look like they are nearly ripe already, from the colors. The white one could be a mini-pumpkin like “Ghost”, but it is impossible to say for sure – pumpkins, like squash, are notorious cross-breeders, so if the parent plant was near any other related squash, they could be any sort of cross. These small, decorative pumpkins are certainly edible, but since they aren’t bred for that, you are unlikely to be very happy with the quality. You could try cooking one and see if you like it. If not, just use them for fun Halloween decorations! If you would like to know more about harvesting and storing pumpkins here is useful information from the Univ. of Illinois. http://extension.illinois.edu/hortihints/0410c.html.

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