I have many favourite plants, too numerous to mention, BUT there is only one plant I have a love affair with.....and that is the Lenten Rose.
I love their shy habit........their woodland ways.......and the fact that they bloom during the winter months......
I have a collection of around twenty plants and add to them each year.....
I search nurseries for plants that are reduced and bring them home and give them plenty of TLC.
I dig a large hole in a shady spot, and fill it with leaf mould. Once the plant is in I give it a good watering.
In the winter when the buds appear I cut some of the large leaves away so that I can appreciate the beautiful blooms......
The above photographs were taken last winter.........and they excite me they really do........it almost makes me look forward to the colder months.
Must dash.....I have some Helleborus to plant........
27 comments:
Wonderful photos Cheryl, I think your love for the Hellebores had rubbed off on me and I am feeling the need to get myself some...
They're so expensive though, I've seen them for £15!!! Sometime though... I may request some from my mum as a birthday present :)
Hi Liz.....I have picked up Hellebores for £3.00...I search them out this time of year. The garden centres clear old stock and replace with new plants.
Ok they need some TLC and I personally believe leaf mould makes a lot of difference, but mine have all survived and done really really well.
It would have to be something really special for me to pay
£15.00 for a plant.
Thank you so much for the seeds, especially the angel's fishing rod.....you made my day. It is really strange I was walking Nella today and was thinking about getting some.
I meant to ask on your last blog post - are you familar with Piet Oudolf? I assume you must be but was curious whether you had any of his books?
I'd love to see his border at Wisley... Really must go some time (perhaps not when the show is on though!)
A trip to a garden centre may well be on the cards to try to pick some hellebores up, oh dear, I hope I manage to rein myself in! Garden centres are dangerous places ;)
Sorry there are so few Angel's fishing rod seeds, I only had the one stem and the seeds are relatively large so didn't get as many as I had expected.
I like them, too. Cheryl, I found a lovely double yellow that had to come home with me...I hope it blooms this next February...It was beautiful! Love, love the photos and the bee is perfect. gail
Hi Liz....no I am not familiar with Pied Oudolf....tell me more. I have been to Wisley but many many years ago now....
True...garden centres are dangerous places....I must say I try not to go alone. If I take Mr p he will restrain me.....
Hi Gail......the double yellow hellebore sounds unusual....I do hope it blooms and you share it with us......I would love to see it......
You have some really beautiful hellebores too Cheryl. I look for new varieties here every chance I get but they seem to show the same varities over and over. I hate to shop by mail but I might have to start doing that to get what I want. Lovely picture one and all.
That's a lovely lenten rose! I like the way it shows different faces (colours). Very pretty.
Nice to have something special to look forward to when the cold weather comes. Happy planting!
I agree Lisa.....I do not like to shop by mail....I have often been disappointed....but I hope that you are able to find something a little different.....
Piet is a Dutch garden designer who pretty much started off the whole 'perennial movement' he is well known for his long borders using mainly Perennials. He plants for all seasons and structures. So the idea is not to clean away dead plants but to enjoy them over the winter as they get frost, snow and such on them...
He has some borders at Wisley and a few other places in the Uk I believe (not to mention the US and such too)... Definitely look him up Cheryl, because his work is not too different from yours already!
http://www.oudolf.com/piet-oudolf
We have Lenten Roses and they give us such pleasure. I share your love of them.
Your Lenten Roses are beautiful. They do seem a bit shy--in the dip of their heads, to their soft shade and coloring. Lovely!
That is one plant I haven't tried to grow. They certainly are pretty. Next spring I'll watch for them and try to find a spot to plant a few.
Marnie
Hi Liz...tks for that info....I will look him up.
I always leave my perenials until the spring for that very reason....I love to see the frost on them....also it is somewhere for insects and the like to hide during the winter.....
These are beautiful indeed, Cheryl. I planted some hellebores last spring, but of course they didn't bloom this first year. They're looking very healthy, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them bloom next spring.
I didn't realize I missed your last post. So poignant--I do understand how you feel. My husband and I visited his 87-year-old aunt on Sunday. She's still cheerful and likes to talk with us, but she's become so crippled by arthritis that it is hard for her to get around. Once so intelligent and witty, she has become very forgetful, asking us the same questions several times. I am so glad we stopped to see her, but it's hard to see someone you love once vibrant and active to become frailer with age. I'm so glad your garden provides happiness for your parents; they are so fortunate to have a caring daughter nearby to watch over them. Take care, Cheryl.
Thank you Rose......Hellebores are a true passion of mine....I really love them...
I do worry about my parents, they seem to have aged suddenly.....other days they look better. I am glad that I am able to help them, they have been good and loving parents.
Dear Cheryl,
These are so lovely. I can understand your love affair. I also fall in love with plants. Nice to see your bees are active. Mine are sleeping...it has been cold and wet.
Happy planting.
I am packing for my field trip.
See you on Safari!
Sherry
Dear Cheryl, these are beautiful photos of your lovely Hellebores. I planted Helleborus niger, the Christmas Rose some years ago in the border near my dining room window so that I could see it easily in the depths of Winter but it always struggled. However, two years ago I planted the Lenten Rose in a different part of the garden and I have been thrilled with them and plan to have more.
That is if I can ever get my garden back to some semblance of normality! I have neglected it dreadfully lately and one border has been invaded by Ground Elder, I am very reluctant to use chemicals but it is so difficult to get rid of...I am at a loss to know how to deal with it! I think I may have to remove all my perennials and bulbs and just try to dig it all out...oh dear :(
Cheryl, these are truly lovely plants. Until I started seeing these on blogs, I had no idea they exsisted. I have them on my wish list, but haven't made the leap yet.
I love the photo with the garden fairy and the hellebor flower above her head. Looks like a lovely umbrella for her.
have a great weekend!
Cheryl these Hellbores are simply
beautiful with sweet little charming faces!
Oh Jan....the demon Ground Elder is every gardeners nightmare. As you know I am an organic gardener, so that would never be an option. In saying that I do totally understand you need to get rid of it.
Before you resort to chemicals let me look through my books. Some are very old and you would be surprised what I find in them. They may just be something!!!you never know.
Have a lovely weekend....
Dear Cheryl, as always you are so kind. I haven't used chemicals in the garden for years and hope it won't come to that, they just don't sit well with my instincts but the Ground Elder is really taking hold :(
I have answered your query about the Teal, I only mention it because I am never sure whether people go back to look for replies especially if it takes me a while to write them!
I hope you have a lovely weekend too :)
Same here Cheryl, I leave things to allow the insects and such to hide in/under... Do have to be careful that they don't become hotels for slugs though :)
Of course they also put nutrients back into the soil as they die and rot away...
I plan on asking my neighbour's son if he could give me the leaves from their large cherry as he collects them... I could do with some leaf mulch!
Hmmm...winter flowers.
Have none. Your Lenten Rose has to go on my "thinking about" list.
Cheery flowers would be nice a nice addition.
i remember distinctly coming to your blog and discovering hellebores. i planted three this spring and they bloomed. i love the delicate look of these blooms and the woodland habitat they desire. i hope my make it thru the winter and are able to come back next year.
yours are so stunning...i love the third one down...it reminds me of someones very special crocheted brooch...very lovingly made.
i will plant more of these come spring.
enjoy your love affair with these beauties....no one blames you.
happy autumn.
Absolute `Beauty` Cheryl....TFS:)x
Of course...And I smile...
I just bought 2 the other day. One slate & one mardi gras red. I hadn't spent money on plants this year, but I couldn't resist...
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