I love a good Hellebore, although they
always take me by surprise popping up well before im expecting them. A purple flowered one is always an early
shower in the designated ‘spring bed’ and at the bottom of the garden we have a
sizeable clump of a green flowered variety. The mother tells me its quite rare
as garden centers don’t tend to stock it as people aren’t keen on green. I can see why, its a bit of a boring looking
shrub but up close the intense green of the flowers is actually quite
impressive.
For me though, the Hellebores selling point
as an early flowerer is also its downfall.
At this time of year if im actually at home during daylight hours the
only times I venture into the garden are a quick nip round to the bin or
grabbing the rat for bedtime. Im
definitely not on my hands and knees in the undergrowth turning up the flowers. Why do they insist on hanging facing the
ground?! Who can see the surprisingly
interesting centres down there I ask myself, especially the one that evidently
didn’t like it where it was and snuck under the fence to live with us (lucky
me), currently wedged in a hedge.
So the answer; cut them off and bring them
indoors. Doesn’t work, tried it. Put a few stems in a vase and you get a serious
case of wilt. Apparently, according to a
tv programme the mother saw a few weeks back you have to cut them right behind
the flower heads and float them face up in a bowl water lily style. Works a treat and makes a very attractive
centerpiece to the ol’ table. Makes me
want more but at £13 pound a pop In my local garden centre I never manage to
bring myself to invest. Lets hope a few
more sneak in from elsewhere…
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