Comments on: White Bleeding Hearts

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:29:29 +0000

Rebecca, The tree form of the lilac sounds beautiful.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:08:09 +0000

The lilac shrubs trained to a tree take up considerably less space than a lilac shrub, or full grown tree. I suspect at maturity the tree with be something like a 5-6ft ball on a 4-5ft trunk. I’m also surprised at how much more sun the foliage gets, just by being raised off the ground a few feet.

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:18:31 +0000

Rebecca, it’s great to start with mature trees, since they have such an impact on the atmosphere of the garden, and take so long to come into their own. I wish I had room for another lilac, love the fragrance.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:21:42 +0000

It is a lot of fun! We’ve been here for about 6 years, and the mature yard had quite a few large trees and shrubs, but more gaps than I like, so every year I add a few shrubs & perennials to fill it in. My favorite addition this year is a Mme Lemoine Lilac, treeform. The white blooms are stunning, and I can’t wait to watch it as it matures. The pictures along the side of your house remind me of my side makeover, there are about 8 feet between the sidewalk & fence, and previously it was filled with gravel and low junipers. It’s since been changed to sod, with a 2 foot bed along the fence with a variety of summer flowering perennials, the ones that do best are the heliopsis and carpathian bellflowers, neither seem to mind that they get quite a bit of shade.

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:50:05 +0000

Rebecca, it sounds like you’re having fun finding just the right spot for all your new plants. Your yard must be looking good with the new additions. You should take before and after shots so you can compare it next year, as things start to fill in. Besides, they give you something to look at in the winter. :)

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:23:22 +0000

Thanks for the info, I think I will move it so that it’s under the edge of the lilac, between a burning bush & blue fox willow. It’ll also be shaded by a weeping birch to the north of it, but will get some filtered sun in the late afternoon/early evening. I had it next to my new blizzard mockorange, but I’ll put a Phlox paniculata ‘David’ in it’s place. Sometimes hard (but fun!) to make sure everyone has the right neighbours, both for appearance & growing conditions. :)

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:20:02 +0000

Rebecca, yes, mine are fairly shaded. They are under the edge of a willow tree, and backed by a fence to the west. They get an hour or two of morning light, and seem to really like this location. I think they can take sunnier locations than this, but you would want to make sure they don’t dry out, if it’s too sunny. In hotter zones, or if they dry out, I think they die back and go dormant for the summer. Mine stay fresh until the frosts.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:15:39 +0000

Northern Shade, is your ‘alba’ in a shady area? I planted mine, but it’s getting more sun that I thought it would, and after pruning an old lilac I have a more shaded spot that also gets more soil moisture. Just wondering where it would be happier. :)

By: Northern Shade

Northern Shade — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:03:26 +0000

Helen, I haven’t noticed seedlings from my plants yet, after 4 or so years. They must indeed like your site. It sounds like your plants decided to choose their own location. In the end, there’s always a bit of a compromise in the garden, so if the pretty Dicentra are happy, it works out well. I appreciate their extended blooming time.

I have seen pictures of the garden in the book, and another of his perennial books. It would be great to tour and view the garden in person.

By: Helen at Toronto Gardens

Helen at Toronto Gardens — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:41:46 +0000

In my sandy, fairly dry, shade garden, Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ performs quite well. I used to have the pink one, too, but made the mistake of trying to move it once. The roots of D. spectabilis are fleshy and brittle, and resent disturbance.

However, I’m happy I have only the white one now. It seeds itself all over the place, and I’m often giving away babies. Don’t know if the seeds have to be fresh, or I’d offer them out.

First fell in love with it at Larkwhistle, a wonderful garden on the Bruce Peninsula. If you’ve read the Harrowsmith Perennial Garden, you’ve seen this space created by Patrick Lima and his partner. Patrick had a mass of three or four white bleeding hearts in his “white garden”. As soon as I saw that, I had to have it in my garden!

Unfortunately, the bleeding heart didn’t share my opinion about where it was best to grow. It still feels that way, and most of the time, I agree. Still, I’m always scatter a few seed pods in “my” hoped-for places, and cross my fingers.

Amazingly, thanks to the long, cool spring, it’s still blooming here now at almost the end of June. Hope this sudden heat doesn’t cut it off at the knees.