In the Pacific Northwest, Helleborus is considered a late-winter and early-spring flowering perennial. It’s only November, but my Hellebore (Helleborus niger) has already started blooming. Wonderful! When most of the perennials quit for the winter, any new flowers are welcome. They provide a smooth transition to a new season. Even during winter, when other plants are dormant, there will be flowers in my garden!
This plant proves to be true to its other name, ‘Christmas Rose’.
After checking the pictures, I realized that I was not the only one excited about new blooms. Look who is here!
Maybe, most of the slugs prepared for the cold season, but not this one. Fresh sweet juice of the young blossom – what a treat! Another version of The Beauty and the Beast?
Lesson learned: peek under your flowers skirts once in a while! Now, it looks better.
In January, the whole plant will be covered in blooms. Attractive big leaves will stay dark green through the winter but will be cut back to give room for new growth. My previous post about this plant and its pictures in January 2010 are here: January Buds and Blooms
Hellebore in January
I find Hellebores.org to be a good source of information about Helleborus. They have a beautiful gallery of H. flowers pictures.
Copyright 2010 TatyanaS
Oh what a lovely surprise Tatyana. My pink lenten ones are in bud a few inches above the ground but they still have not opened up yet. You certainly will have a proper Christmas rose this Christmas - my niger ones never flower until end of Feb begining of March normally.
ReplyDeleteGood for you to welcome an early bloomer without worry! Such a beautiful flower, you can see why the slug can't resist :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flower! it must be great to have it around for the winter.
ReplyDeleteI hope the little slug didn't take much
Hi Tatyana,
ReplyDeleteNo such luck here yet with the Hellebores, they really are lovely! Look at those masses of flowers, you must have some nice mature plants there :)
Perhaps you could add a winter flowering clematis into the mix too? I always have good intentions to get a winter clematis and then forget...
Sigh! How wonderful to have Hellebores in November and then such profusion in January. We will be under a blanket of snow. Beautiful blooms and photos Tatyana! I love your "looking under the skirts" advice! ;>)
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful, this color really shows up in the garden. I just put a llight yellow one in this fall.
ReplyDeleteEileen
Tatyana that is amazing to have blooms right now ! .. I will take that cue and peek under my flower skirts next Spring as well .. I can't wait to see the hellebore parade then!
ReplyDeleteJoy : )
They are such a pretty flower aren't they? Your images are beautiful and even the slug got a cameo. Those little slimy slugs get everywhere.
ReplyDeleteTatyana,
ReplyDeleteWe have the same plant purchased last spring at Pine Knot Farms. It has 7-8 white buds on it right now!
Very pretty flowers. I has several times so absorb taking pictures of flowers and vegetable that I don't realised there were snail and slug there until I look back at the camera screen.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful surprise Tatyana!! L
ReplyDeleteOh so beautiful, Tatyana. I woke up to my gardens covered in a thick blanket of snow. And I'm afraid that this time it will stay for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI have an oddball hellebore that's set blooms on one stem already, too. Maybe today's snow will slow them down for a couple of months ... or at least slow down the slugs.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have flowers blooming in November! My hellebores are really greening up, but I don't expect to see any blooms till early spring. It's too cold for them here in the winter...and for slugs, thank goodness:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely early present for Christmas! The slug clearly thought so, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteChristmas Rose, rightly so named to such beautiful flowers especially the last photo! Urrggh..I dont like slugs, Im a bit squimish abt them!
ReplyDeleteI love hellebores. I've got plenty of Niger, but no white or pink ones.....note to self, go get some!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful hellebore photos--love the slug. The flowers and foliage don't look like Christmas rose to me. I am used to seeing smaller, darker, smoother, 5 to 6-part leaves with teeth at the tip. Also whiter, more outward-facing flowers with slightly pointed petals. Is this a special cultivar? Carolyn
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your nice comments! It is truly a beautiful plant. Our climate is pretty mild and allows H. to stay green year around and bloom for several month.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many varieties of H., with different leaf and flower colors and shapes. Carolyn, I think I saw the plants which you describe. Maybe, I have an older type? Also, as they say at the Hellebores.org, "Hybrid hellebores are amazingly
unpredictable, in part because they have such mixed genetics..." Anyway, they all are beautiful!
You are SO lucky Tatyana to have blooms in your garden ALL year!! I dream of such a thing but so far, no luck here.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful Hellebore too. I can't believe how loaded with blooms it is in the Jan photo. Simply spectacular. I just planted my first two plants two years ago. Maybe someday mine will look like yours.
I don't grow these in zone 8/8b...they are very nice, I have admired them for a long time on blogs. UH the dreaded slug...I can't tell you how much beer the slugs drank around here this past Spring. One morning our youngest counted over 100 drunk in the cups...
ReplyDeleteA delightful gift to be thankful for, Tatyana. i love this plant (the slug, not so much)!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have Hellebores blooming at this time of year! They are favorites of mine. We call them Lenten roses as that's the time of year they bloom for us. Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteChristmas Rose is a beautiful winter plant! Hope you're enjoying the wintery weather!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first year with Hellebores in my garden. I think I should look into getting more...yours is lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt would be wonderful to have flowers blooming in November where I live, but most plants are ready to "hibernate"-not bloom. I enjoy the beautiful photos you share on your site. Check out my blog when you have a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have a cooperative Christmas rose. Mine will never bloom in time for Christmas, but I still have the same problem with slugs eating them in November. The new buds are just forming and already there's damage.
ReplyDeleteYour hellebores look wonderful and big too. Ous won't bloom till February. Happy Thanksgiving. jim
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are very lovely. Great captures.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful images. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.