Beautiful hellebores, or Lenten Roses, are flowering.
The mild winter has brought out my Helleborus orientalis rather early. I’m certainly not complaining: they look magnificent and give me so much joy every day as I trot up to the chicken coops to let the birds out.
I love these double magenta hellebores, not least because they’re from my mother’s garden and lived for a little while on my balcony in between house moves. Now that they’re in their perfect semi-shaded woodland setting, they’re settling in terribly nicely.
Even deeper and richer than the double magenta hellebores are the ‘Smokey Blue’ ones, which I got from Gardening Express.
Both of these pictures are a good reminder of how well hellebore flowers age. They still look beautiful even when the blooms are spent.
This double pink spotted hellebore is probably my favourite at the moment.
But it’s a tough contest, with a double white spotted rival nearby too.
And after I planted them as little seedling plugs in 2014, these hellebores, which were part of a cottage garden mix from Victoriana Nursery, are finally flowering too.
Lovely. My hellebores are out early too and I’m pleased to see them 🙂