Hello Hellebores (and other lovely things)

It is Hellebore flowering time again and I always enjoy seeing the flowers unfurl.  Above is Hello Ruby.

This was a new purchase from 'The Range' and is 'Hello White Pearl' .  I am assuming they are called the 'Hello' series because their flowers are held upright.  It does make taking photos of them easier.

Here's Ruby again, with the light shining on her petals.  She will be staying in a pot for now.

Here's White Pearl again.  It will also be in a pot.

Camellia Yoimachi has finally decide to flower with more than one bud, so I am enjoying the white with a touch of pink flowers.

The camassias are romping away now.  I think I should have separated and potted them on last autumn, to give them more space, but I left it too late.  

Finally, cardamine quinquefolia spreading gently and not invasively, where it seems to be happy.  It is a very pretty but unassuming plant.

My other hellebores are just starting to flower - no doubt there will be photos...

Almost Spring?

 I spent a very happy couple of hours in the garden yesterday, pruning, cutting down, cutting back, having a good look at plants and then tidying all the prunings.  You could be forgiven for thinking that it might, just might, be almost Spring.  I'm not convinced Winter is quite over yet though.  Above is Camellia St Ewe, bought last year.

 It has a vibrant combination of bright pink flowers with egg yolk yellow,  almost orange stamens.

 Cardamine Quinquifolia is settling in and starting to spread, but as it is so pretty and delicate, I am happy to let it do just that (for now).

You can see the five lobed leaves which is what the 'quinquifolia' refers to, I think. 

The hellebores are still flowering too and are such good value plants for this time of year.  This is Harvington Pink Speckled and it is making a lovely clump now.  The others are getting there, but this is the first one I bought. 

 A primrose, albeit a little nibbled by something, but a joy to see.

Crocuses too, looking a little battered, but with some lovely stripes and a vibrant combination of purple and orange.

 Tete a tete daffodils bringing their welcome splash of yellow.

Crocus Jeanne D'Arc, in a pot.  It has a delicate purple stripe down the inside of the petals, probably to guide the bees.

I love seeing these plants in flower and despite it being a little cold, I had a very enjoyable time yesterday and came in feeling I had actually achieved something.

February in the garden (before Storm Ciara) and some new plants

 Yesterday was a lovely day with sunshine and even a bit of a blue sky.  I went into town and was tempted by some plants - some iris reticulata and more snowdrops (well, you can never have too many) as well as some geraniums.   Above is iris 'Harmony'...

 ...this is 'Pixie'...

 ...and this one is 'Painted Lady'.  I have never had much success with these plants, so I shall enjoy them in their pots and then plant them in the garden.  If they come back next year, that's a bonus.

The geraniums I bought are here - geranium cantabrigiense 'St Ola'.  I have potted them into pots where they will stay until April or May depending on the weather.  I have some cantabrigiense with pink flowers, so I think these white flowers will look good with them.

 My hellebores in the border are starting to flower - here is Harvington Pink speckled...

...and Harvington Single Red which has taken a couple of years to settle in.

 Cardamine quinquefolia is getting ready to flower and I think this may be a bit early.

 Lovely winter flowering honeysuckle is still flowering away and on a sunny day like yesterday, the scent was beautiful.

 The little flowers pack a real punch of fragrance.

 Here is hellebore 'Hello Ruby' still going well (in a small pot).  I will pot the poor thing on once it has finished flowering.

 Here are the snowdrops I bought yesterday.  I love them!

Finally, here's a plant we picked up at our local Aldi - Peperomia 'Napoli Nights'.  I had been seeing peperomias all over the internet in other blogs and decided this one was coming home with me.  It came in a sweet little stripy pot too. It will need re-potting soon, but I will let it settle in a bit first.  Today has been very windy and we have also had hail and sudden rain too, but so far, we have been a lot luckier than many areas of the UK.  If you are in the UK, I hope you have been safe through this storm.

Winter into Spring

 

There are quite a few photos on this post, but when there is so much happening in the garden, it isn't surprising.  The two daffodils above seem to be sharing some gossip.

The crocuses took a while, but have now graced us with their elegant presence...in purple

...and white.

 I love to see primroses - simple but beautiful.

 The blue of a scilla just doesn't show on this photo.

 Then there are the hellebores...speckled pink

 Picotee pink...

 Not sure, but pretty anyway...

lovely pure white...

 ...and the latest addition 'Hello Ruby', not in the border yet but acclimatising to the garden.

 Pale and beautiful narcissus Elka.

 Camellia St Ewe.

 Cardamine Quinquifolia (three flower stems this year and slowly spreading.

 It has been really windy this week, but Spring is on the way.

Just when you think it's Spring...

 There were definite signs of Spring.  Crocuses...

 more crocuses...

 the last hurrah of the snowdrops...

flowering away with the cyclamen coum...

 more crocuses...

 and more...

 Hellebores...

 and daffodils...

 then, last weekend, this (again!)

 Those poor plants - they wouldn't know if they were coming or going.  Luckily, the snow had gone by last Tuesday and today...

 anemone blanda...

 camellia flowers...

 cardamine quinquifolia (I bought this last year, so this is the first time I have seen it in flower - so pretty)...

a self-sown sweet violet...

 bright and bold primulas...

 lovely blue scillas...

and a blue hyacinth (Blue Magic).  Is it Spring now?  Well, it looks like it today but there have been mumblings about a cold snap over the Easter weekend, including more snow.  I am really hoping they are wrong!