Another favorite spring perennial for me is Dicentra or Bleeding Heart. I have 2 varieties in my garden at the moment. The first is the common bleeding heart pictured at left (dicentra spectabilis). It seems that the leaves miraculously appear every year! I suppose with some of the colder spring days, you are not always out & about looking! And as quickly as the leaves appear, the flower stems with the incredible heart-shaped flowers appear. It grows up to 2 feet tall & reaches out, almost literally, about 2 feet. The lovely foliage lasts throughout most of the summer. My plant is at least 15 years old. How’s that for a long-lived perennial! For most of its years, it enjoyed mostly shade. Recently, without benefit of a shady evergreen, it is in full sun & is still very happy!
The second variety I grow is the fern-leaf bleeding heart (dicentra ‘luxuriant’). This is a wonderful addition to a shade garden. The pink blooms emerge in late spring, early summer & keep blooming throughout the summer until frost. It grows only a foot tall with similar spread. The fern-like leaves are very delicate & look beautiful throughout the seasons. This seeds like crazy giving you plenty of opportunity to share with friends! The deer also stay away from both varieties in my garden, which is a big bonus. Great companions for both varieties are hellebores & lungwort!
PS. Friday begins the GBBC – Great Backyard Bird Count! See link below.
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc
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