Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart in a Shade Garden

A spring view of Dicentra spectabilis or Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart in full bloom.  The outstanding characteristic of Bleeding Hearts is no doubt the shape of the flowers.  As the plants common name suggests, Bleeding Hearts bear heart shaped flowers, from which a little "drop of blood" dangles at the bottom.  Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts usually reach 2'-3' in height with a similar spread.  The flowers appear in April and May and sometimes into June.  Bleeding Hearts thrive in shade gardens and prefer moist, rich topsoil.  Their foliage tends to die back after they are done flowering and the hot weather sets in, leaving behind vacant spots in the planting bed.  For this reason I tend to interplant these groupings with a late growing perennial such as Anemone or Ferns which will fill the voids as the season progresses.  This shade garden is located in Warwick, New York.
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