Hellebores

Hellebores are woodland plants, perfect to grow under the canopy of deciduous trees. They prefer alkaline soils - keep them away from pine trees - are adapted to the colder climate zones and are the first flowers in the garden, blooming as early as January during mild winters. They keep their flowers for an amazing four months.

Even though hellebores are evergreen they only put effort into their old foliage until the fresh growth starts to emerge in spring. The old leaves turn brown and quite unattractive after that and you will need to remove them if you want to keep the plants healthy and compact and allow them to show off their glut of flowers.

Many gardeners say these beautiful perennials are hard to start from seed, mine can't seem to stop, but since most varieties are hybrids, if you want to propagate them and maintain their characteristics, use root divisions or take cuttings.

My rather sizable Spotted Lady hellebore has been sprouting more babies tha
I know what to do with. The new plants look nothing like their mother, but they're lovely anyway, with soft pink flowers that remind me of wild roses and apple blossoms.

Hellebores need plenty of water during the spring and fall, and could use a little fertilizer every now and then, but otherwise they are basically care free and thrive anywhere you plant them, even in dry shade. I haven't had one die on me yet.