Sunday, March 11, 2012

Hellebores

At the recent PA Garden Expo in Harrisburg, I spotted this lovely display of new varieties of Hellebores.   The Hellebores are often called Christmas Rose or Lenten Roses because they will bloom out of doors in foul weather.  Perfectly hardy from Zones 3 through 8, these plants survive well without any kind of protection from the weather.  Best to plant them where you want them and not try to move them later.  Not related to roses at all but they are members of the large buttercup family.  They always yield a wealth of showy blooms that last for weeks.  The colors range from pink, through white, brownish purple, some are spotted, striped or edged with contrasting hues.   They have a long medical history of being listed as both medicinal AND poisonous.  So it is not a herb plant that we use in any way other then enjoying the brave flowers in the garden during the wintry weather.
Pink Cinnamon Snow - Helleborus x ballardine
Winter's Ghost Helleborus x nigercors

3 comments:

Martha said...

We love our hellebros and will add more to the garden this year. They're blooming their hearts out and are so pretty -- they do beat the daffs and hyacinths!

Marilyn Miller said...

I do love hellebros in the garden. Thanks for mentioning that they are poisonous. I must remember that with little children running about.

Angela McRae said...

These are on my wish list for my own garden!