HOME & GARDEN
FEBRUARY 2019 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM
32PEAK COLORThe Glory of Hellebores
Meet the dramatically droopy flowers that bloom through winter
BY ROBERTA DEHMAN HERSHON | PHOTOGRAPHS BY NGOC MINH NGOD
REARY LANDSCAPES
come alive when pure white
blossoms of the Christmas
rose (Helleborus niger) and
its colorful cousins open
to celebrate the holidays.
These gently nodding
beauties, which last for months, are
members of the buttercup family and
native to the mountains of Eastern
Europe. Just in time for Valentine’s Day,
look for another more vibrant wave of
easy-to-grow hellebores, Lenten roses
(H. x hybridus), in hues ranging from
pale pink to deep purple with veins,
speckles, or darker edges popping
against shiny green leaves.
Planting a patch of hellebores in
your garden or adding a pot to your
porch is a simple, sophisticated, and
inexpensive way to dress up any yard.
These flowers are hardy self-seeders
that spread quickly. Dick Tyler, who
owns Pine Knot Farms in Clarksville,
Virginia, produces over 300,000 each
year. He advises that gardeners not get
too hung up on colors. “All hellebores
are beautiful and provide year-round
greenery and texture,” he says. “And
best of all, they emerge just when
we need a lift before the rest of the
garden awakens.”
Aside from the Christmas rose
and Lenten rose selections, he also
recommends an herbaceous charmer,
the bear’s-foot hellebore (H. foetidus),
which blooms in late winter. Tyler’s
customers often prefer to call it by its
other well-known name, “the stinking
hellebore,” but he is quick to defend it.
“This is a misnomer. The plant actually
has a sweet, musky fragrance,” he says.
Certain hellebore selections, like ‘HGC
Pink Frost,’ ‘Confetti Cake,’ and ‘Spanish
Flare,’ look best floating in a bowl, but
nearly all make nice cut flowers.Longer Life Before
arranging freshly cut
hellebores, sear the
stem ends with a
match and place
them in water.