Helleborus niger and Helleborus orientalis

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One is H. niger and the other is H. orientalis. It’s the niger that is blooming now. The O blooms closer to Easter. The ‘Lady’ series is H x hybridus Lady. To paraphrase an article in BBC Gardener’s World, “Exciting colour options are now available to gardeners with the introduction of a new series of hellebores bred by Gisela Schmiemann in Germany.” Hopefully, I can get the garden center in Creston, BC to bring the series in for sale. The colors are really spectacular. The blue is the deepest and the yellow is sharp and bright. On another note…….night before last we received another six inches of snow. It was bright when I got up at midnight to take care of ‘the necessaries’, and ‘sitting on the throne, gazing out into the back yard’, who should stroll out from the trees, but two lovely young does! I spent over an hour watching them pick through the perennial bed munching roses, helichrysum, residual asparagus fronds and the odd blue berry and raspberry twig. Taking into consideration we are almost in the city limits where most yards are lit, dogs abound and traffic is always there, I couldn’t get over the resiliency of these two ladies….coming to terms with foraging in the suburbs.

About the Author

Garden information for Lynda Lowman is not available.

Now, the digging and dividing of perennials, the general autumn cleanup and the planting of spring bulbs are all an act of faith. One carries on before the altar of delayed gratification, until the ground freezes and you can’t do any more other than refill the bird feeder and gaze through the window, waiting for the snow. . . . Meanwhile, it helps to think of yourself as a pear tree or a tulip. You will blossom spectacularly in the spring, but only after the required period of chilling.

~Adrian Higgins in The Washington Post, November 6, 2013

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