Why choose native plants? Pacific Northwest native plants know how to live here and how to thrive here. They often need much less water and less fertilizer. They spread slowly and are not invasive. They support a wide diversity of wildlife. And best of all, they look great!
Pacific bleeding heart is easily one of the most beloved plants in a shady woodland Northwest Garden. In early spring, a carpet of delicate bright to bluish-green foliage emerges from the earth, soon followed by a plethora of enchanting heart-shaped purplish-pink blooms bobbing above the leaves on upright stems. Nectar-rich flowers attract and support hummingbirds, adult butterflies, syrphid flies, bumblebees and other native bees; foliage provides food source for larval butterflies as well as cover for small creatures like amphibians and various arthropods. Blooms April-August. It grows 12-18″ tall and 24″ wide in full to part shade. Tolerates dry shade. Try establishing a ground cover of pacific bleeding heart beneath native conifers or other trees like alder or vine maple, in areas that are moist and rich in organic matter and topped with a blanket of fine mulch, fallen leaves left in place or raked from one area of your garden to another. Try accompanying it with understory species like evergreen huckleberry, salal, osoberry, and native ferns – and other ground covers like stream violet, false Solomon’s seal, and Hooker’s fairy bells. Hardy in zones 3-9. Photo courtesy of Portland Nursery.
