Bleeding Hearts

Dicentra Spectabilis or commonly known as Bleeding hearts are herbaceaus perennial that bloom in early spring. I can't help it but turned melancholic when they make their appearance in the garden. These dainty little hearts reminded me of my late grandmother and her cottage garden. The ferny folliage of this plant with their graceful stems holding rows and rows of tiny little hearts swayed gently in the breeze, able to move your heart as you admire their surviving courage and their ability to charm any sentimental souls and make a poet out of them.

My bleeding heart
hush
do your weeping in silent
such is life,
quit with that lament (excerpt from my "tribute to grandma" poem collections)

There is also a white version of these dainty hearts but I find the pink variety goes well with any Forget Me Nots or Mysotis varieties because they both bloom at the same time in early spring and compliment each other beautifully;

As blue as Forget Me Nots
my heart bleeds for you,
In my prayers and my thoughts
may God's blessings always be with you.

(excerpt from my "tribute to grandma" poem collection)

This plant is the best candidate for parts of the garden which are in light shade or deep shade. They are not very fussy, actually will also grow under direct sun especially when temperature remains cool throughout summer but I find the bleeding hearts thrive better when given a spot in shady areas, making them one of the best choice for cheering up little pockets or dark corners in the garden without taking much space. Unlike many sun loving plants which simply languished and sulked when grown in the shade, the bleeding hearts thrive and flourish without demanding much attention. The dainty little pinks hearts will also last longer when shaded from the direct sun.

Their roots clumps are very brittle, and will rot soggy in water retentive soil. In a well drain planting area, this is a very easy plant to grow. They behave quite similar to those spring bulbs. After they finished blooming , the ferny leaves slowly turn yellow and and shrivelled as the summer temperatures gets warmer. If planted in sunny spots the leaves will dry out by mid summer in sync with the tulips and daffodils foliage. That doesn't mean they are dying but they kind of go into dormancy, gathering energy and fattening their roots clump underground and come back again the following spring.

I usually clean up the dying leaves and marked the spot where the dormant roots are located to avoid accidental shovelling. Like other herbaceus plants, I divide them in autumn and plant them in different types of shades. In spring, those clumps that receive a little bit more sun light tend to produce blooms earlier at the break of spring compared to those growing in total shady spots, emerging a little later. Planting them in various degrees of shades kind of lengthen the bloomings season.

I don't really care much about fertilizing them, maybe because all my plants are grown in mix border or mix planting style, so basically whatever and whenever I feed the shrubs after they finished their summer blooming, that is all the nourishments these herbaceaus plants received. All pictures was taken in 3 different kind of shades.