By now, Wild Bleeding Heart is nearly finished flowering for the year, but I don’t think it’s too late to celebrate what they contribute to morning walks through the woods.
They are a woodland plant that enjoys shady, moist soils. There are many places they can be found on the island. They tend to grow in communities rather than as solitary plants so they are easy to spot as they form a banquet of charming pink blossoms against a lush, lacy foliage starting at the end of April and continuing into early June.
There are both native and cultivated varieties of the plant for your garden. Since the flower’s heart-like shape is such a romantic icon in many cultures they are a popular plant in outdoor wedding venues. I especially like the way the native plants tend to spread around the base of trees in my yard. Bleeding Heart is one plant the deer seem to ignore.
Several ethnobotany sources claim the Skagit tribes used the crushed root of the plant as a scalp wash to energize hair growth. It was also used as the main ingredient in a tonic storied to heal the sick and strengthen the weak.
The small, oily black seeds are attractive to ants who carry them away and help spread the plant short distances. They also spread using their root systems and the flowers are often pollinated by hummingbirds.
My mother taught my sister to dissect the mature Bleeding Heart flower to create a delightful tiny doll. However, since I was not taught this folk magic I cannot duplicate the process. I have tried and failed…creating nothing more than a small pile of random flower parts. I have looked on-line for instruction…but found nothing. I have noted that if I turn the flower up-side-down…instead of a heart, I have a pink angel with a yellow head…
The bleeding heart in poetry and literature seems to always be a story of pain and hurt. But the plant to my eye, is cheery and pleasing…We need a warm and enthusiastic poem about the lovely Bleeding Heart plant.
This plant was photographed in my yard in early May 2021.
Dal Neitzel