Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) is a dainty but rugged wildflower that blooms in March and April from Maine to Missouri. Here it is in bloom in my Delmar, NY garden in Patriot's Day, 2009. I've lived here for six years and I've never seen it in bloom before. My neighbor did cut down a couple tree branches last year. Maybe that gave it just the right amount of sunlight to get blooming. Dutchman's Breeches grows four to eight inches tall, likes dappled sunlight in woodlands with fertile and moist but not wet soil. I am going to transplant a couple of these to a more visible part of my garden. It is legal for me to do this because the plants are on my property. But it is illegal in New York to dig up and transplant native wildflowers on property not your own. Dicentra cucullaria is related to D. spectabilis, better known as perennial bleeding heart. Both of them are wonderful perennial plants for the woodland garden.
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