Dwarf Bleeding Heart

Dwarf Bleeding Heart
Dicentra 'Ivory Hearts'
(dy-SEN-truh)

This little Bleeding Heart has been blooming on and off most of the season. Along with the dwarf pink flowered ‘King of Hearts’ it has been forming a nice carpet of groundcover in almost full sun. It only grows to about 4 inches tall with finely cut ferny foliage and the flower stalk grows to about 12 inches tall. It kind of revolutionized growing of Bleeding Hearts for me. One thing to be aware of is these plants cost about twice what the species does.

Thankfully it looks like Hurricane Earl is going to miss our area. It was a close call but the storm is going to stay off shore. Hopefully we get some rain without the damaging winds and storm surge. After a lot of worry it appears to be a non-event here.

False Forget-Me-Not

Variegated Siberian Bugloss
Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream'
(BROO-ner-uh) (mak-roh-FIL-uh)
Synonyms: False Forget-Me-Not

This is from the spring. 'Hadspen Cream' combines two things that I love, blue flowers and variegated leaves. It puts on quite a nice show in the early season. It can look a little ratty towards mid-summer but cutting it back usually rewards the gardener with a flush of nice new leaves. Since it likes shade it is a good candidate for a shady border or even the woodland garden. It does seem to want adequate moisture or the leaves can scorch. Since this plant is native to Siberia it is quite cold hardy (USDA Zone 3). It can be a little hard to get at the nursery and is even a little rare but the popularity is increasing, probably because of its uniqueness and beauty.

Persian Buttercup

Persian Buttercup
Ranunculus asiaticus
(ra-NUN-ku-lus) (a-see-AT-ee-kus)
Synonyms: Turban Buttercup, Persian Crowfoot

Wordless Wednesday

White Lantana

White Lantana
Lantana camara
(lan-TAN-a) (kuh-MAR-uh)

Bloody Mary Flower

Bloody Mary
Silene coronaria 'Angel's Blush'
(sy-LEE-nee) (kor-oh-NAR-ee-uh)
Synonyms: Lychnis, Mullein Pinks, Rose Campion, Bloody William, Lychnis coronaria

This plant has seemed to undergo a name change to Silene from Lychnis. There has been a large patch at the Estate for many years and I always try and spread the seed each year. There seems to be a good variation of blush on the blooms. There is everything from pure white to almost all pink on my flowers. They bloom about the middle of June.

This plant can grow in some hot and dry conditions and doesn’t seem too fussy about soil. The foliage is a short rosette of pretty silver foliage with the flower stalk getting up to about 24 inches. It doesn’t need staking. It appears to be biennial for the most part but there are always enough seedlings to keep the group going and expanding at a nice (not invasive) rate. I always allow the seed pods to dry before collecting them and that seems to work well.