I love roses, don’t get me wrong, but today I wanted to explore a few plants with heart shaped flowers or leaves in honor of Valentine’s Day. These lovelies will provide beauty in your home or garden for much longer than a few days.
Cyclamen is a house plant that is often available around the holidays because of its bright red blooms. The colors are a great match with Valentines Day (often red, pink or white) but more spectacular are the plant’s heart shaped leaves. I’ve learned (from experience) that Cyclamen really like a cool spot near a window with indirect sun, and they hate to be watered from the top (it rots out all of the new emerging foliage). Instead, place the plant in a shallow dish of water for 15-20 minutes every few days to a week.
Dicentra is an herbaceous perennial that blooms in your garden in the spring. The plant blooms in long racemes with pendulous, heart shaped blooms in red, pink or white. Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) has the most distinctly heart shaped blooms. This plant works perfectly with Alchemilla, Peonies, Brunnera and other spring bloomers. But, its foliage does get yellow by summer so plant it near Hosta or other large foliage plants that can make up for it as it fades.
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a small, native, ornamental tree that blooms in early spring before its leaves appear. The bright pink blooms are Valentine-ish, but again this tree has beautiful heart shaped leaves. Different varieties can have purple leaves, or white blooms, all are gorgeous. Make sure to get one appropriate for your USDA zone.
More sustainable than cut flowers, these are options that will bring beauty to your home and garden for seasons to come, and your Valentine is sure to love them!
