Saturday, February 24, 2018

Hello, Hellebores!

In the world of easy-care plants, Hellebores are probably my favorite.  They thrive in shade, can take dry or damp conditions, and they bloom their hearts out for months and months from late winter till late spring with a wide variety of flower colors and forms. 









The only maintenance that Hellebores require is a careful trim at this time of year, when new growth is emerging from the center of the plant, to remove last year's old foliage.  (I took these photos earlier today, while I was outside doing just that.)  I have a LOT of Hellebores, and it only took me a little over two hours to do all of them.









Most of the Hellebores in my garden are seedlings from the few named varieties that I bought at plant sales years ago.  Happy Hellebores reseed easily, and I am glad to have them spread as far as they want in the areas where they grow.  When seedlings grow where I don't want them, I dig them and move them to another spot, or I give them to friends.  I allow my shade garden to get a bit wild, so masses of seedling Hellebores (or Hostas or Italian Arum) are a good thing.









It looks like this year's Hellebore season should be a very good one.  Bloom time is just starting, with all of these flowers you see here and a LOT more still to come. 

7 comments:

  1. They certainly are pretty, Connie. I always think of them as "shy" flowers because the way their 'faces' are downcast. Lovely- xo Diana

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    1. It’s a good thing that their reverse sides are just as lovely as their faces! Breeders are working to get the flowers to be more upward facing … but I love the old-fashioned ones best.

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  2. I've always loved Hellebores - and Fritillaries! But I know neither of them would make it through our winters, or the deer either. I'll just have to enjoy them vicariously through your beautiful garden, which is okay too. Less upkeep on my part. ;)

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    1. I'm not sure how YOU make it through your winters. Your photos of it are terrifying.

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  3. I'll take whatever seedlings you need a home for!! :o)

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  4. Hi Connnie, your Hellebores are gorgeous and you do have a lot of them! I always think of them as “quiet” flowers because of the way the flowers are downcast. Have a nice weekend Connie. Christa

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  5. These old fashioned beauties one of my favourites... I used grow them in Vancouver..but in the East the winters are unfortunately too harsh for many lovely plants.... but I just might try again since your post was so inspiring..t We too are restoring two heritage home .. and the gardens always need TLC.. I will look forward to following your garden and renovating progress... Have a lovely day !!! Thank You for sharing.

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