IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE making a garden without the benefit of golden foliage, with its power to draw the eye even to shady corners. The stunning golden-leaved bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart,’ is one such creature. I was given a plant by a friend in the late 1990s (thank you, Dan Hinkley), among the earliest ones to make their way into our gardens courtesy of Hadspen House Nursery in Somerset, England, the genius of Nori and Sandra Pope. (There’s another story to tell there, about the garden at Hadspen, but not right now.) The recent online ‘Great Plants Picks’ from the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle does a good job of profiling ‘Gold Heart,’ and suggests some daring combinations, but basically here’s the bottom line: Don’t garden without this one (Klehm’s and Lazy S’s both have it by mail).
hot p(l)ants: dicentra ‘gold heart’
April 11, 2008
I have other Dicentra, but not this one. I love the gold foilage – it would be a nice contrast in my shade area. Thank you for sharing!
This beautiful gold heart has already had a home in my garden for the last two years. It’s a beautiful contrast to the darker leaves of hosta and provides incredible color to the garden. I agree with you Margaret – this is one a gardener must own!
Another nice one is the golden spirea. My favourite is the japonica because of its larger flowers in rusty pinks. They seem to love nooks and work nicely in edging.
This is a great site. I am in So. Cal., looking for a Grananda rose, anyone seen one?
Welcome, Marian. Thanks for the good words. Re: ‘Granada,’ if it’s not too late this season, you could order one from Hortico.