Friday Fleurs: Bleeding Hearts

Dicentra 'Spectabilis'

I think bleeding hearts are the quintessential spring flowers. They rise up from nowhere and within a week or so are these spectacular, vibrant-colored plants.  They don't last very long, so you have to enjoy and appreciate them when you can. Their stems are very fragile and easy to break, in fact I broke a few while taking these pictures! I have several plants, and a couple of different varieties. One of my favorites is Dicentra 'Gold Heart,' which has chartreuse foliage. Bleeding hearts die back soon after they bloom, so it is good to plant them near something that will take over as the bleeding heart foliage dies back. I plant mine near hostas and anemones.  Right now I can barely see the hostas, but they will take over by June.

Bleeding heart, hosta, forget-me-nots

Dicentra 'Alba'

Bleeding heart and grape hyacinths

Dicentra 'Gold Heart'