4 Truths and Spring

The monsoon ended Friday night and allowed for a perfectly beautiful Saturday. Temps were in the 40’s, which at this point in the winter season seems similar to a 75 degree day. I had an opportunity to walk through the garden, although almost nothing was actually accomplished. I was encouraged to see the Hellebores as far along as they were. For those unfamiliar with Heronswood Hellebores, they are some of the most interesting varieties on the market, and this year is no different. Since I will not go into a sales spiel here, there will only be links towards the end to see some of the newest varieties that will knock your socks off.

Hellebores are some of the earliest blooming perennials for temperate climates. In PA, they typically push bud in Late February or early March. I have seen extensive growth topped by flower buds and a lone flower on Helleborus x hybridus ‘Snow Bunting’. I had to dig a little to find the forming buds, as I am experimenting with garden bed leaf retention to assist with overwintering issues of some species that are borderline here. It looks like the Agapanthus are taking to that treatment well. One persistent worry now that the glorified rat saw its shadow, is a late spring snow storm that could damage the buds. With any luck, there will be enough warning for the “Storm of the Century” that I can protect some of my more sensitive plants.

Hellebores are particularly interesting to me because they bloom when all else in the garden is desolate. I can remember walking to classes in Februaries past, temperatures in the teens, and weeks before the first Hamamelis bloom- the hellebore’s and their flowers were in full bloom, as if to say to Mom Nature- “That’s all you’ve got?”. The hellebore group has picked up a pretty poor reputation for a number of years, leading the class to never reach its full potential. The non-purists complain because the flowers are nodding. The conformists would have gardeners believe that all flowers should be upturned and happily smiling like a sunflower. I openly protest. No one is happily smiling when stuck outside in the doldrums of winter with minimal interested visitors stopping to admire. However, this is exactly what makes the hellebore a perfect plant (not in the botanical sense). Lets face it, how many times are we preoccupied with the weeds or pruning that we skip stopping to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Truth #1: Hellebores bloom at a time when nothing else is being done in the garden.

Truth #2: The nodding flowers provide enough of an enticement to travel into the garden to inspect closer.

Truth #3: When the flowers are finally tipped up by a gentle hand, their true beauty is exposed to only the viewer.

Truth #4: Nothing brings spring closer than the sight of the first flower- especially when it is months prior to the first robin sighting.

4 varieties of clonal hellebores were picked up last summer at a Heronswood Open in Doylestown. Using some semblance of common sense, they were not planted until September. Hellebore ‘Kingston Cardinal’, Hellebore ‘Snow Bunting’, Hellebore ‘Green Heron’, and Hellebore ‘Gold Finch’ are the four in the stable. I will post some non-borrowed photos when there is something to see.

Graham Rice, the Transatlantic Plantsman has a plethora of information on his blog, as he has written a few books on the topic for the RHS.

All photos used in this post are copyright Heronwood Nursery and were taken from their website, www.heronswood.com. A few great Hellebore varieties and their links are below.

Hellebore ‘Ivory Prince’ - A seed variety rather than a clone, but the apricot blooms are amazingly colored and almost radiate.

Hellebore ‘Starling’ -A “Slate” variety that is would look great with my ‘Snow Bunting’.

Hellebore ‘Phoenix’- I have never seen a Hellebore with such stunning colors. Guacamole green with a rich red margin.