Hearts And Flowers

Day 217: Asian Bleeding-heart (a commercial hybrid) delivers hearts and flowers around Mother's Day here in the Pacific Northwest, larger and brighter than those of the native species. The plant itself is rather delicate in that the watery stems break easily, so place it somewhere it is not likely to be damaged. I learned this lesson the hard way shortly after moving here, but after I moved the plant to a north-side flower bed and set it back from the border where it could spread, it has done quite well. Hummingbirds are drawn to the bright pink flowers, but the main pollinators of bleeding-hearts, whether native or non-native, are the long-tongued butterflies and bees. While it is now regarded as the sole member of the genus Lamprocapnos (L. spectabilis), it may also be listed under the synonym Dicentra.