Christmas Gardening – Hellebores

At this time of year we need all the encouragement we can get to spend time in the garden and one of the greatest encouragements that we can invest in, is the Hellebore, also known as the Christmas Rose and Lenten Rose. The flowers have five petals, which are actually sepals, surrounding a ring of small, cup-like petals. Some really excellent ones to consider are:

Helleborus orientalis – which has pink, white and purple forms and cup shaped flowers which continue to please right through the winter months. Standing a mere twelve to fifteen inches in height, this plant is best set on a rockery or some other place where you can admire the subtle inner surface of the down pointing flowers. Most of these flowers will have freckles and spatterings of colour on the inner surfaces which add to the appeal.
Helleborus foetidus - the small green flowers of H. foetidus often have a purple edge to each 'petal' and bring an excellent red tinged foliage to the garden through the coldest months.
Helleborus argutifolius - has tough spiky leaves and slightly bigger outline, but the pale green flowers which dry on the plant and so can be left until spring, are elegant and delicate.

They are hardy plants but like a moisture retentive soil and semi-shade, so planting them in clumps under small trees (deciduous) or shrubs seems to work well. To refresh the plants, simply cut out the old flowering shoots in the spring and give them a good mulch.

Christmas gardening hellebores photograph by Paul Albertella, used under a creative commons attribution licence