Valentine’s Day Appropriate

I thought these bleeding hearts (Dicentra and Lamprocapnos) would be appropriate for Valentine’s Day.  Normally blooming in about 9-10 weeks from now, I think we’ll see these much earlier if this warming trend persists!  With sunny skies and a high of 46 degrees F today, we’re seeing signs of life out in the gardens.  I noted plenty of snowdrops (Galanthus sp.) starting to poke up yesterday and we’ll continue to see our earliest bloomers popping up in the coming weeks as buds swell and the garden is duped in to thinking it is late March.  Bleeding hearts are excellent spring bloomers and many of the smaller selections (fernleaf bleeding hearts) have significant merit as well.  Above and below is the standard species although there are some other options as seen throughout the blog.  I’m a big fan of both Valentine® and ‘Gold Heart’ seen further below.  We have bleeding hearts in most of our part shade gardens for nice spring color and they never fail to impress.  Do some more research on individual varieties to see their features of merit and specific cultural needs.

We had a good crew today with Larry H., Cindy and Bob K. outside working on Holiday Light Show (HLS) projects and the continued dismantling/processing of the monstrous HLS.  Vern and Dave T. had some carpentry projects while Nancy N. did some painting.  Bill O. worked on some flat tires and helped out in the gardens with the HLS.  Kathy P. had various projects and helped process lights.  Urban came in for some more pruning out in the gardens and Janice stopped by as well.  We also saw Mark S., Dick H., Katharine and many others today.  I did a presentation this morning for the Beloit Kiwanis club to promote the gardens and continue to order seeds and plants for this spring.

Dicentra (Lamprocapnos) spectabilis Valentine® (‘Hordival’) – directly above and directly below

Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’

Dicentra formosa ‘Margery Fish’

Dicentra ‘Luxuriant’

Dicentra ‘Candy Hearts’

Dicentra ‘Amore Pink’

Dicentra formosa ‘Aurora’

Dicentra ‘Ivory Hearts’

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) – directly above and four below

Dicentra (Lamprocapnos) spectabilis ‘Alba’


Dicentra (Lamprocapnos) spectabilis ‘Gold Heart’ – directly above and all below