Tag Archives: Hellebore

hellebores

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Last year I was given some Hellebore seedlings by a friend. I planted the largest ones straight away at the base of the Viburnum opulus Roseum, in amongst the aquilegias, hoping that by the same time this year they would provide some much needed interest whilst the aquilegias got their act together.

The other, smaller, plants I potted up to protect them from being trampled by the dog. But despite my best efforts, one by one they collapsed and died.

I still had high hopes for the plants around the Viburnum though, and I was looking forward to seeing some foliage at least. But there’s been no sign of them at all. Further justification then, for my splurge at Brackenwood Plant Centre on Saturday.

Despite their curiously bashful nature, these flowers have given the garden a bit of instant glamour: their down-cast, wine-coloured heads look stunning alongside the dark green and limey-yellow of a clump of self-seeded Euphorbia. As planned, their serrated leaves arch over my precious tulips, not only protecting them from the dog, but also providing a green screen over the dull brown earth.

Much as I love seeing these plants out in the garden, I can never resist picking a few. I think they work best floating in a bowl on the kitchen table.

I bought my plants at Brackenwood Plant Centre and they are Harvington Reds (Helleborus orientalis hybrids ‘Harvington Reds’)

getting to grips with the garden

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I spent a couple of  hours on Saturday morning weeding, tweaking, cutting back, digging up, dividing, and generally getting to grips with the plants that looked in need of attention. I love unplanned gardening sessions like this, ones that happen because the sun is shining and for once, nothing else is demanding my attention.

This sort of  slightly unfocused pottering is exactly what I need in order to reconnect with the garden when I’ve been feeling a little gloomy about it. As I work, I invariably spot things I’ve forgotten about, such as the little clump of violets above. Someone tied several bags of them to their railings last spring, with a note saying “take me”, so I took some and stuffed them in the corner of a bed without really thinking – I don’t even think I knew what colour they would be.

And I also find myself delighted by the sight of new shoots on plants I feel sure I’ve butchered or neglected – Clematis ‘Madame Julia Correvon‘, pruned to within an inch of her life, or so it seemed, just a month ago, is already on her way up the back fence. And C. Texensis Buckland Beauty, is showing signs of life too. Above is how it looked in July last year, climbing up through the Macleaya. I moved it at the weekend, so this year it will ramble through R. Veilchenblau instead.

Working in this way seems to free the mind and, more often than not, I find that by the end of the morning I have had at least one eureka moment regarding some aspect of the garden. And so it was on Saturday. Halfway through what was meant to be just a two hour session, a rather hazy idea that I’d been kicking about for some time now, came sharply into focus: wouldn’t it look wonderful, I thought, if I planted a row of Amelanchiers in front of the top level of the terracing.

Two hours later I was at Brackenwood Plant Centre wrestling four seven foot trees into the back of the car, along with a tray of fabulous Hellebores which had called out to me as queued to pay. You know how it is with garden centres. I dithered for a moment, winced at the price tag and then I had another eureka moment (aka clever bit of justification for overspend): if I planted them in and around my tulips, the razor-edged leaves of these big, well-established plants, would keep Sybil at bay.

It’s hard to take an interesting or informative photograph of a tree that is still pretty much only one step on from being a twig. But there are lots of buds, so photos of blossomy loveliness will follow soon. Hellebore photos even sooner.

back to school

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Back to the Botanic Gardens yesterday for part two of the RHS level 2 course. As I walked up the drive I was greeted by Prunus mume ‘Beni-chidori’ in full flower and smelling delicious. It is has been underplanted with a selection of hellebores, many of which had finally emerged – though I could see that there are lots more to come. I particularly liked these freckled ones, which I’m afraid I can’t name as they weren’t labeled.

The bed also contains a Stachyurus praecox and a number of Bergenias. I have to say, I don’t think the Bergenias work. I must confess a certain bias here – Bergenias are not plants I particularly like – but in this case it is simply that there are other colours that would have provided a more effective foil for both the Prunus and the Hellebores. Last spring, when I started this blog, I wrote about this clever combination of Bergenia and Chaenomeles which completely overturned my snobbish aversion. Still, I’ll continue to enjoy the Hellebores and the Prunus, and who knows, as the bed fills up, I may even come round to Bergenias too.

heavenly hellebores

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Despite their shy demeanor, Hellebores demand that you genuflect before them. Kneeling down – on a muddy path, in this instance – and peering into each drooping head is the only way to appreciate their beauty properly. This is one of the first of the Hellebores to have appeared at the Botanic Gardens, and from what I could see yesterday, there will soon be great drifts of them at the entrance.