hellebore porn: a fast look at 2010’s bloomers
I DON’T KNOW WHAT MORE I CAN SAY in praise of hellebores. I’ve told you that I rely on them for my garden’s earliest burst of major perennial color, and that they are among my favorite evergreen groundcovers, happy even in some tough spots here and asking for little care. So rather than say that all again in more detail, how about some pure hellebore porn? After all, these Helleborus orientalis are sexy plants, which freely mate and create endless new color variations. Which you can see in this latest slideshow…
Click on the first thumbnail to start the show, then toggle from slide to slide using the arrows beside each caption. Enjoy!
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- People ask when I show photos of my hellebores what the name of this or that variety is. Truth be told, I have no idea; mine are mostly chance seedlings from my old plants. Hellbores have a lot of sex, you see. Like nonstop.
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- All the ones in this slideshow are so-called Helleborus orientalis hybrids. I started with unnamed baby seedlings — some yellow, some “black” or very dark purple — about 10 years ago, and planted them under an aged apple tree out behind the house.
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- Some of the yellows are more pure yellow; some have more green to them.
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- A detail of a yellow flower. My original plants all came from breeding experiments by Charles Price of Seattle, a longtime garden friend.
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- Among the “black” ones, which are my favorites, the colors go from dusky-purple to deepest wine. As with all my chance orientalis hybrids, flowers vary not just in color but also in shape and size from plant to plant.
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- Some flowers face outward…
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- …and some are decidedly pendulous.
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- One young plant emerging and stretching up tall before blooming…
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- …while another opens all its flowers while still nestling down in the leaf litter.
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- I am always fascinated by how they look with light shining through them…but this wacky photo is really meant to show off the more rounded flower shape.
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- This one (a cross between a “black” one and a yellow, I suppose) has a reddish eye zone and distinctly pointed flower parts.
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- Still others are more cupped (and look at these color variations…like I said, they have a lot of sex, and babies).
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- Again with the cupped shape, this time gracefully nodding.
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- This striking oddball, marked in a sort of peachy tone at the edges, is another chance offspring with unusual coloration and flower shape.
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- And then, somehow, I also have plants whose flowers show distinctive traces of pinkish tones.
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- Some, in fact, are full-on pink…
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- …and others have freckled faces.
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- Lately I bought more of Charles Price’s experiments to add to the gene pool here, and some have dark reverses and unusual flower shapes.
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- Another recent adoptee.
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- Years ago, I bought one double-flowered plant…not my favorite, with its ashy color (always looks sun-bleached)…but to its credit, it does always show up with a pretty party dress on.
Hi Margaret
Thanks so much for introducing me to these beauties last year. I planted an on sale no label variety last year and had a dozen or so leaves which I cut off a few weeks ago since they were ragged after the winter.(zone 5b) I hope this was the right thing to do since NO new leaves have sprouted? I am thrilled that I have ONE flower!!!– a downturned white with red speckles! It looks funny and vulnerable with no leaves around it and I’m terrified that the lack of leaves means it won’t survive. What can I do to help it survive and flourish??
Thank you for the ongoing inspiration and pleasure from your blog and I loved your book
Liz
No worry, Liz; the leaves won’t come till later on the orientalis types — mine are in full bloom and not a leaf to be seen yet. These are tough plants, but with their big root systems they do take awhile to settle in, so be sure if your weather dries out to give it a drink now and then this year. I see big hellebore happiness in your future. :)
Hellebore Porn…Oh, that’s good!!!! Keep up the hilarious and ALWAYS relevant garden intel Margaret! I think you will find random people in very far reaching parts of the world are way more interested in hellebores than you ever imagined. At least I was surprised when I saw how extremely interested these people were in me losing my canning virginity (blog post last fall). Who knew??? HA!
Beautiful. I just bought my first one this year. It is in a sunny to partly shady spot at the moment under my fledgling Star Magnolia. Hopefully it won’t be too sunny for it.
I have been researching these lovely flowers since reading about them here, but sadly, I have been reading that they are poisonous. Being both a dog and cat owner, now I am having second thoughts about planting them. What do you think?
Thanks for the information, Margaret. I’ll be putting them on my gardening list for this year’s purchases. I don’t know how I’ve not noticed them before. I’m always interested in new varieties of plants.
I really like all the information on your site! I saw you on “Martha” this morning and had to check it out. Like you and Martha (and so many others), I love gardening, animals, nature, and solitude. I will be checking back here often.
I don’t know about these flowers. Do you grow them from bulbs? Are they planted in the fall for spring blooms? They are very pretty!
Welcome, Skye. No, not bulbs, but perennials…can grow from seed (slow) or buy in pots already a few year sold and blooming. Can plant spring or early fall, and bloom late winter/very early spring. Evergreen foliage lasts a whole year…then you cut it back and another year’s worth flushes out. Great shade groundcover!
Hi Margaret,
The first time you plant your hellebores, when do you expect them to bloom? It sounds like they are a (very) early spring bloomer… I planted mine in probably April this year. Am I going to have to wait until 2011 to get excited?? thanks!