My own Hellebores are still under several inches of snow but this pink Hellebore was flowering happily in a sheltered garden in York on th 3rd February. Called the ‘Secret Garden’ near St Cuthbert’s church, Peasholme Green, it is situated under the shelter of the walls that surround most of York.
Hellebores are easy to grow and are more collectible since good hybrids have come on the market. Our more comprehensive list of various species is available here. They are tolerant of most soil conditions but prefer moist soil although they can stand drought.
The Stinking Hellebore foetidus is a compact, evergreen perennial with finely divided elegant foliage. Height up to 2 feet with a similar spread. The scent leaves a lot to be desired. In spring the almost ferny clumps have clusters of nodding, lime-green, long lasting flowers held on thick stems just above the tops of the foliage. These Hellebores associate well with other spring flowers that enjoy dappled shade such as primroses. Again in 2010 they seem to be in flower earlier than usual.
Stinking Hellebore gets its name from the unpleasant scent it emits, which is more noticeable if you pinch the glossy, serrated leaves. The plant produces the scent to attract insects for pollination early in the year when there are fewer insects around. Honey made from this Hellebore can be toxic.
The cultivar ‘Green Giant’ has very bright green flowers and finely divided foliage, ‘Miss Jekyll’ has scented flowers whose intensity varys with the time of day; ‘Wester Flisk Group’ has red-tinted leaves and succulent stems and gray-green flowers. They seed quite easily but take 3-4 years to grow to a good size. Mamie Walker is the person who first discovered the red-stemmed form growing in her garden at Wester Flisk, near Newburgh in Fife noticing that the flowers had a better red edge in dry seasons. More photographs can be seen on a Spanish website topwalks.
Hayloft plants is selling 5 plants in the Lady series, Red Lady, Yellow Lady, Pink Lady, White spotted Lady, and Blue Metallic Lady.
For some great double flowered Hellebores available from Thompson & Morgan
