Hello Hellebores 2025!

The hellebores are putting on a lovely show at the moment and it is always a joy to see them. Most of them are in pots in shady areas and seem quite happy.  (I may have added three more to the collection this year, so let me show them to you first.) Above is a single white hellebore in the Credale series.

My most recent purchase was this beauty - double pink picotee in the Credale series.

Here is Ice and Roses in flower now and yes, as promised, it does have a red flower.

These are the hellebores I have had for a while.  This is Harvington Pink...

...and here is Winter Princess Victoria.

Hello Ruby has proved to be a great addition to the collection and is a reliable flowerer.

Helebore ericsmithii Winter Sunshine is still flowering and does provide sunshine on a dull winter day.

Hello White Pearl is also a reliable flowerer and has put on a wonderful show this year. I was pleased to see the little ladybird busily hoovering up some pesky aphids.

Harvington Pink spotted, I think.

Finally, Harvington Pink Picotee.  These last two are in the shady border, but don't seem to do quite as well as the ones in pots.  However, they are spreading around and I now have two speckled ones.  There is also a white one which is growing in amongst Hydrangea Annabelle, but isn't quite in flower yet. 

They are a good source of pollen and nectar for early bees, so are a great addition to the garden.

Welcome Hellebores

I love seeing the hellebores starting to flower. While Winter is not over, they are always a promise of Spring.  These are all grown in pots and are ahead of the hellebores in the border.  Above is the rich plum/pink of Hello Ruby.

The deep colour of the petals contrasts beautifully with the green/lemon stamens.

Hellebore Eric Smithii Winter Sunshine is proving itself to be a reliable and floriferous addition to the garden. 

The pink buds open to a white/pink flower, with a touch of green.

This is Hello White Pearl which is again a reliable performer. The pink speckling is so pretty - it almost looks like a lily flower.

There are more flowers to come.

Hellebore Princess Victoria is on the way - her flowers are a deep purply/red.

This is Hellebore Harvington Pink.  It is a really pretty pink but has seemed a little shy, not flowering last year.  There are three flowers on that stem, so I shall enjoy watching them grow.

My newly planted (in December) grape hyacinths are starting to grow too so I am watching them (with some excitement!).  They should have a pale blue flower.  I do like this time of year with the promise of lovely things to come.

First garden visit of 2022

On a rather wet and grey Sunday, my garden visit companions, Katy and Alison headed off to Easton Walled Gardens, which is a thirty minute drive away.  It had just opened for snowdrops the Friday before.  I had visited before, but not since 2015, so was interested to see how things had grown and changed.  I had managed to slip on our stairs that morning, which had winded me, but I was lucky and hadn't done any lasting damage, although felt a little more fragile than usual! 

The house was demolished in the 1950s but I believe the bulldozer broke down and the gatehouse was left standing.  

I remember these spirals as very small last time I visited.  (You can see it was raining).

They make a lovely feature now.

The snowdrops were looking lovely, flowering away under the trees.

I liked this combination of hellebore, cyclamen coum and pulmonaria.

More snowdrops on the bank...

...and snowdrops as far as the eye could see by the river.

I managed to lose my footing around here and ended up sprawling on my back amongst the snowdrops. which caused much hilarity (and I don't think I will ever be able to live it down).  Again, luckily, it was a soft landing and apart from a bruise on my leg, I escaped unscathed.  It was completely my own fault, not being aware of where my feet were while trying to take a photo.  

I liked these troughs planted with iris reticulata.

The hedge above had been pruned to show its lovely bumpy shapes.

The bridge was a Victorian addition.

This trough also caught my eye.  The combination of ferns, snowdrops, hellebores and cyclamen works so well and could be repeated in a large pot at home...hmm...

Yes, I came away with another hellebore to add to my collection.  I spied this one as soon as I went to the shop. It is 'Harvington Pink'.

Such a pretty pink too.

Isn't it a beauty?  Being with friends, tea, cake, snowdrops and hellebores - what a great way to start the garden visits in 2022.