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Monday 16 April 2012

Hellebore Monday

Most of "us" northern gardeners are still in a certain amount of nakedness when it comes to our garden's progress at this stage .. that unnatural "hot spell" we had threw us off our regular schedule and has us thinking that this year is going to be a tough one water wise .. we have had no drenching Spring rains YET !
About this naked thing ?

Yup ! I think this illustrates what most of my garden is going through still .. but I know how fast it can catch up .. if we had those fresh Spring rains !
I am in an embarrassing position of trying to figure out what some of my hellebore are ..
 I planted in a rush a few years ago .. thought I wrote down what went where .. some I know because they were my first few .. others .. their names escapes me .. this one below can be one of two .. either Apricot Blush or Golden Lotus .. the foliage colour is throwing me off .. it is a lime/golden green ?
Any suggestions appreciated !
Another one that a friend tried to ID for me last year is beginning not to look like the one we thought it was ..
Golden Sunrise should be a lot more in tune with it's yellow self ? and it isn't ..
I was beginning to think "White Lady" ?
This one I think I am safe with calling it "London Fog" .. I have the plant tag ... phew !
I'm thinking this is Peppermint Ice ... I need to see it opened to be sure because I have Berry Swirl mixed in here as well .. how is that for being organized ? ... NOT ! .. BUT they are all in one bed so that makes it a bit easier ??
Helleborus "Niger" has knocked my socks off .. Last year, later in the season I collected it just because I didn't have it .. I had no idea how truly beautiful this so called "common" one is !
The flowers start out so a crisp white and then change to such gorgeous tones of yellow, a little pink, apricot .. well they go on and on .. I will never think of this one as "common" !
Ivory prince is also eye candy .. especially its foliage .. it looks amazing when the flowers have finished.
That is something I looked for when putting this raised border together .. it had to look good after the flowers were finished .. but even the dry flowers are beautiful too !
Pink Frost has foliage similar to Ivory Prince .. so I know it will also display wonderful foliage until Autumn.
I must not forget to say the flowers are very pretty too !!

Well .. I think you know by now I am a hellebore fanatic .. a friend gave me a collection of plants for my birthday and it was a certainty from that point on I was totally in love with these plants : )
I have 13 or 14 different cultivars so the ones I am uncertain about ? I am going to discover what they are!!

13 comments:

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Those are very pretty!
My yard looked just like that a short time ago. That is the only thing I hate about my yard. Not enough evergreen plants. Everything basically dies in the winter. But when Spring finally arrives it grows like crazy(-: Then of course Summer heat hits and everything dies again..lol(-: Oh well...the life of a gardener(-:

RURAL said...

A fantastic fanatic...wow what a collection you have there.

I want some here, but "she who knows everything" [ my sister ] say it's too dry.

We will see! LOL.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Heck, I can't keep up with my own plant names Joy. I got several of my hellebores as pass along plants. Others have reverted to parent plants. It is a mystery for Monday.

Lona said...

Wow Joy you have a lot of Hellebore's. Well I do not know their names either but I love them all.The one with the golden leaves is so pretty. I cannot wait to see the blooms open on some of yours. The one in the header pictures has so many beautiful colors in it. Love it! Have a good week Joy!

Jennifer said...

Joy, When I saw the thumbnail preview for your blog on someone else's reading list, I just had to come over to see your hellebores. Hellebores are new to me, so I will be no help in identifying an unnamed varieties. I can only look and admire!

Unknown said...

This is a beautiful collection Joy. I never heard of Hellebore until I started blogging.

VW said...

Funny, I have Golden Lotus and Apricot Blush planted next to each other, too. GL is double-flowered. Wait, maybe I have Apricot Shades instead . . . can't remember. And my garden is looking rather naked right now, too, except for the hellebores. Patience, patience . . .

Anonymous said...

I can see why you love them. They are beautiful!

GRACE PETERSON said...

I hereby crown you Hellebore Queen! Every photo is just gorgeous, Joy. What a fabulous collection you have. I saw on your weather sidebar widget that thundershowers are expected. I hope they bring gentle rains.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Wow, you do have a ton of hellebores. I was looking at them when I visited a local nursery, very expennsive and not the varieties you have, great collection.

Eileen

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Cindee girl : )
You really go through a tough cycle of growth and die back there .. such heat and dry conditions .. we have some of it here but usually it is the horrible heat/humidity that does me in .. we never have a perfect weather episode do we ? LOL

Jen girl .. you know as well as I do that with a few tricks, you can have hellebore that won't dry out to the extreme .. from lots of good compost to mulch to even the gel particles you can add to the soil to keep those babies moist .. you can have hellebore if you really want them girl ! LOL

Lisa girl hello there !
I am going to do my best to get the names beside the right plants .. I bought some fancy zinc plant markers (only 8 .. I have to have about 14) .. yes I can understand what a mixed up jumble you must have girl but they are pretty eh !

Hello Lona girl ! and thank you : )
Helleborus 'Niger" is the header photo and a shock to me of how gorgeous it really is : )
The golden leaves one has me with either or situation .. I hate not knowing .. drives me nuttier ? LOL
Have a great week too girl !

Jennifer girl you have started your love affair with hellebore .. once truly bitten you will be totally enamored !! So let the magic happen and enjoy !!

Darla girl there are loads of plants I have never heard before too until I started blogging especially the down south ones .. just like the one you told Grace and I about today ! and it is a beauty !

VW girl hello there .. now isn't that strange that we both plant the same two hellebore together like that ? great minds ? Yes .. it will be a lot easier if some good strong flowers appear to help me ID what hellebore is what !

Yes Sandy girl they are gorgeous .. and teh foliage is great all season as long as that raised bed doesn't dry out to dust !! LOL

Gracie girl LOL OK .. does pay come with that position by any chance ? LOL ?.. we did not get the rain or even the thunder predicted .. we are DRY !!! and that means the hose and I will have a date ? haha

Thank you Eileen .. they can be expensive .. that is why I only collected one or two a year .. my friend started me off with about 5 because she worked in a nursery and got them super cheap , otherwise it would have been a long haul ! haha

Anonymous said...

Wowee ~ you have some gorgeous hellebores Joy!!! Jealous here. I have two doubles & two singles. Finally they are getting a bit bigger but it's been slow. I love 'Niger' ~ that's your blog header photo, right? Simply beautiful.
Sorry about your rose mix-up too.
I get disappointed about things like that too. :-(

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey there Kathleen girl !! So nice to see you : ) I loved your post on the tulips and your garden is looking gorgeous!!
I am in love with your wooden obelisk with the birdhouse on top .. did you buy it that way or did some one make it for you ? if they have the design , could I have a copy perhaps ?LOL