For a couple years now I've watched and waited for our hellebore to bloom. Every year I jealously read the posts of other gardener bloggers who are happily displaying their hellebore blooms but alas, I had no flowers to share! But now the single Lenten rose I have has grown into an 18" little bush with glossy green leaves and has finally flowered.
Shade is hard to come by in our yard - at least in the cultivated areas - and so the space where other hellebores could grow has been occupied by other shade loving occupants, namely hostas and heucheras, which left little room for Lenten roses. But perhaps I should make some room?
I do have a location that might be perfect for more Lenten roses. There's a little garden in the very back of our yard near the garden shed that could be a new home for hellebores. The deer have feasted there before on my hostas but since hellebores are deer resistant plants they might be safe. (Hellebores are poisonous so do not ingest!)
My hellebore may reseed and if that happens I could move any offspring to the back garden but most likely I"ll have to propagate more hellebores through division. Although from what I've read about dividing hellebores it could be tricky and it may be easier to make more plants with seed.
When the leaves aren't frost bitten they really make a nice groundcover. My poor plant somehow managed to get itself singed by the cold. I'm sure it will bounce back with new growth once we have consistently warm temperatures. The only real downside to a hellebore is that fact that the flower face down! As you can see I had to hold up the flowers for the pictures.
Do you grow hellebores in your garden?
Labels: shade garden, shade plants
