I’ve never been big on Hellebores but I do understand the mania. It’s the only thing going on out there for the longest time.
If I had a wall where I could walk by and look up at them, they would no doubt be faves of mine too. Their nodding habit makes them disappointing in a garden where I look down on them (in more ways than one). Lots of people float the flowers in a bowl, where their beauty can be appreciated.
I haven’t enough of them for that approach, so I picked a couple of the first stems and one leaf (it is the foliage that wormed its way into my garden). The cute little bottle was once filled with balsamic vinegar, now repurposed as a kind of bud vase. There is a pony wall around the stairs in our dining room so I could place the little arrangement where, when seated, we could look up into the heart of the flower. Cathy (Rambling in the Garden) has used Hellebores in a much more flamboyant way you won’t want to miss.
Not until one hellebore filled in and became a lovely clump, did I fall in love with hellebores. Now I try to move any little volunteers and spread the love…a perfect little vase for spring!
So you’re saying a new love affair could be in the offing?
Yes, Donna is right, a maturing clump is definitely a things of beauty – even with your hard heart I don’t think you could fail to be moved… 😉 The stems seem to become taller and straighter too, so give them time…and patience… In the meantime, your apologetic offering is till sweet but definitely on the shy side… ps great title today rickii!
I was hoping you would see that I finally came up with a quirky, noteworthy title. I don’t know how you do it so consistently.
I have a collection of balsamic vinegar jars like yours. Perfect container for your hellebore today. The flowers are difficult to peer into but you’ve solved that problem too. I’ve read there are some hybrids that hold their little heads up much better. Mine tend to be the nodding kind also. Have a great week.
The vase challenge finds me eyeing possible containers and finding them in some unexpected places.
Hellebores don’t have an easy time growing here so it’s a thrill when one blooms but it is annoying that they turn their pretty faces downward. I’m not sure I’ll be able to bring myself to cut any of the few I have but, should I, I’ll be sure to search for a similar placement for my vase.
This (and when I see one of Loree’s mantel-scapes) is when I regret having no mantel.
They rarely keep for me when cut. I guess I don’t know the secret. I do love them, though.
Someone suggested dipping the stems in boiling water for twenty seconds. It seems to work.
“I look down on them (in more ways than one)”…wow, Ricki I had no idea! Now I’m going to have to track down the name of the random pink (!) one I have that does not face down. It’s a good one!
I hope there will be one of those new, confident varieties in the deep, almost black tones…or peachy apricot: those I could go for.
There are new varieties that don’t hang their heads, so you could look for those.
Thanks, Christina…as the shade here continues to increase, I’ll be doing that.
If you love green, then the leaves alone are worth growing Hellebores for. They are great in shady places…and when they flower in the usual season, and this year they are a couple of months early in the garden, bees and bumblebees love them. I had wondered about growing them in pots, then suspending them during their flowering season.
I think the hanging pot idea is a good one.
I love these for their winter blooming habit, the long lasting flowers, and the handsome foliage. Your vase is perfect; interesting but without detracting from the simple beauty of the hellebores.
I figured I would get blow-back from Hellebore lovers. Unlike political junkies, we blow back oh so gently.
I can understand your ambivalence about the drooping form in which hellebores “smile”. I often wonder if it is not a genetic characteristic that has imbued the species to encourage them to bloom and flourish during winter. I view their habit as tucking their head down away from the wind and cold. Anyway, as I sit in my office at the computer, I can look out my window and see a variety of assorted colors of double and single hellebores blooming along with my February Gold Narcissus. I am sure I will always plant hellebores everywhere I live. There is no way I would ever deprive myself this wonderful little winter “smile”, even if it does have a drooping attitude.
Thanks for taking the time to set me straight. I’m a sucker for a shy smile.
Lovely. Makes me want to head down a highway to hellebores.
But don’t forget to come back.
Very pretty, Rickii. It is a little bit better when they are grown in tall pots, but I agree with you that they are hard to appreciate when they insist on remaining so shy! Your tall wall planter idea is brilliant!
Have you ever heard of a ‘Stumpery?’ Gardens Illustrated features one developed on Vashon Island in their FEB issue. Simply lovely and smothered in ferns and moss. Planting Hellebores in one of those upturned stumps could solve the issue, too.
I like the stumpery idea.