There’s nothing like a full bed of hellebores to lift the spirits in spring! It’s heartening to see bumblebees at work on them since there’s little else to forage on at this time.
The lime green one that looks like little sleigh bells edged in cranberry juice is helleborus foetidus, a charming and long lasting species hellebore. Plain on its own, it makes an excellent companion to the showier hybrids. It is also taller and hardier than many hybrids.
Yellow hellebores are among my all-time favorites. Just magnificent. A few blue-black specimens hiding behind the reds add extra dimension and contrast. Pristine whites and delicately speckled blossoms enchant.
If you compare this year’s output above to last year’s below, you can see how much they filled out in a year’s time. I’m over the moon with them!
These were all started from trays of small plugs I ordered from a specialty hellebore grower in 2019. Plugs are an economical way to create a mass planting. Yes, hellebores take their time filling in and reaching their full potential but they are long-lived and carefree once established.