Eleanor Clarke
PLANT OF THE MONTH
Plant for January:
Hellebores
Aka the Christmas rose or Lenten rose, they’re one of the joys of winter. They’re evergreen perennials, so they come back year after year and stay green all year round too. The flowers are delicate and pretty, the colours subtle and often speckled over cream or white. But there’s more: the flowers often last for two or three months, lighting up a shady corner of the garden beautifully. They’re good self-seeders too, making welcome new plants for free.
Why we grow them
Aka the Christmas rose or Lenten rose, they’re one of the joys of winter. They’re evergreen perennials, so they come back year after year and stay green all year round too. The flowers are delicate and pretty, the colours subtle and often speckled over cream or white. But there’s more: the flowers often last for two or three months, lighting up a shady corner of the garden beautifully. They’re good self-seeders too, making welcome new plants for free.
Novice rating: rasy rnough
Hellebores are a little fussy about soil, but if you dig in plenty of rich organic matter before planting, you should be fine.
Show them some love
They like rich, fertile soil in part shade, so an east-facing flowerbed is somewhere they’ll be really happy. Or arrange them in a pot or window box displayed in a partly shaded spot.
Take a close look in winter, and if the previous year’s leaves are hiding the new buds, it’s worth cutting them back.
Do...
Add some well-rotted leaf mould or good garden compost when planting if your soil is stony, poor or dry.
Try not to...
Tuck them away at the back of a flowerbed, or at the back of the garden. When it’s cold and wet outside, you’ll want them where you can see them easily from a path or window.
Also invited
Hellebores are brilliant planted among other early spring-flowering bulbs. Try miniature daffodils, grape hyacinths and crocuses for a shot of colour that will last a good couple of months then do it all again next year.
Read more:
FLOWERS
