Gift #814: Hellebores

Those who were with me last spring will probably remember my multiple posts of hellebores and recall that I love them with a great passion.  So umm.. this year will pretty much be a repeat of my declaration of affection for the lovely lenten rose.  I was fairly panic-stricken when February came and went and there was no sign of life from the hellebores planted last year.  Friends urged me to be patient – and they were right.  A week or two before Easter tiny buds emerged on some of the plants and gradually turned into blossoms and leaves.

I’m happy to report that nearly all of the hellebores survived the winter and are showing robust signs of life!

Naturally though as soon as local stores got hellebores in stock, some new ones came home.  The ones that survived best are a variety called “pink frost” and they came from the local Krogers.  These are among the first varieties to appear each spring.  They feature soft pink/mauve/green flowers and their foliage is a lush frosty green.

I say these are my favorites, but in reality, any hellebore I’m looking at is my favorite.  A new variety has also made its home in the garden.  This is “Merlin.”  It has deeper violet-streaked colored  blooms on the outside and creamy insides.  With the deep green foliage with rosy highlights, it is a stunner, let me tell you.  The bright green centers of the flowers really pop against the dark purples.

Did you know that the purple petals of the hellebore are not really petals at all?  They are actually the sepals.  I know, you have to think back to high school biology for this one, but the technical flower is the ring in the center.  The flower is lost quickly, but the colored sepals last for months.  (Just a bit of hellebore trivia in case that’s a category on Jeopardy)

Another variety that I saw at the garden center is called “Love Bug”.  I love their names!  I haven’t bought any of this one yet, but the blooms are a creamy green color and quite a refreshing spring shade.

Now that I’m looking at the photos again, I’m struggling to remember why I left it there.  Oh well, back to the garden center.  Maybe they’ll have a new shipment in too…

Blessings to you,

Sarah