Dark and shady corners in our gardens need lighting up with plants and this new dicentra does exactly that. Also known in English as bleeding heart, this is a cottage garden favourite that has been around for years - although normally it has pink flowers and green leaves. However in this new variety, from the moment the new spring shoots emerge, their bright yellow colouring tells us that something exciting is happening.
As the rather succulent shoots of
Lamprocapnos (formerly
Dicentra)
spectabilis 'White Gold' expand into boldly divided foliage those leaves, in truth more yellow than gold, stand out brightly against dark soil, against dark-leaved shrubs and against evergreen ground cover.
Then, from April to June, the arching wands of pure white lockets open and, held with especial elegance and against those fresh yellow leaves, catch the eye from the other side of the garden.
I’ve grown ‘White Gold’ for a couple of years, now, in north-, west- and in east-facing situations and it’s been an outstanding spring perennial. The new growth is, however, susceptible to frost. My west-facing plant proved not to be damaged at all while the east facing plant suffered badly.
Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'White Gold' was found as a self sown seedling in the garden of Meg and Jim Dalton in New York state in 2010.
You can order plants of
Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'White Gold' from these
RHS Plant Finder nurseries
Please note, the contents of this blog reflect the views of its author, which are not necessarily those of the RHS
