Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Sundial Lupine (Lupinus perennis) is your best bet for Alabama and Hardiness Zone 7. There are three other species—Skyblue Lupine (L. cumulicola), Skyblue Lupine (L. diffusus), and Lady Lupine (L. villosus)—that grow in Alabama but they are more suited to Hardiness Zone 8 and above and would be marginal in Zone 7.

Do you have voles (Microtus spp.) or moles (Scalopus spp.)?

If you have voles, they like other rodents (such as rats and mice) need four conditions to be met to succeed: an abundance of food, ready availability of water, good shelter, and limited pressure from predators. If those four conditions are favorable, little can be done to limit their populations. However, changes in any one of the "big four" conditions that are unfavorable to rodents will soon reduce populations. Limiting their shelter areas is usually the most effective method of controlling their numbers. The University of California Davis Integrated Pest Management in their article, "Pests in Gardens and Landscaptes: Voles (Meadow Mice", offers more suggestions for controlling voles.

Moles are insectivores and do not feed on plants but can damage plants by tunneling through the roots and disrupting them. About the only effective way to control moles is by trapping them. Ohio State University Extension has an article, "Effective Mole Control", with more information and suggestions.