in the garden currently is dominated by pink. From deepest maroon to softest pink, along with swathes of white and splashes of yellow. 
Hellebores - Helleborus produce their pretty, nodding blooms in winter and early
spring through to April, which makes them a valuable asset to any garden. Braving the
chill, they are hardy, compact, low maintenance, and their flowers
provide valuable nectar for early pollinators. What’s more, most are
happy in partial shade, where their evergreen leaves provide
interest all year round.
They make great cut flowers, and an interesting way to show them off, is to snip off the flower heads and float them in a shallow bowl of water.
When first planning the garden one of our aims was to make a tapestry of colour using various heathers. The idea appeared to be a non starter due to our alkaline limestone ground - heathers thrive on acidic soil. However, following some research we discovered that heathers prefixed Erica x darleyensis, and not Erica x carnea would be alright. Fortunately there are plenty of colours within the "darleyensis" range, and they too are currently in flower with a variety of colours not unlike those of the Helebores.
Hundreds of Snowdrops continue to drift all over the garden, but sadly these little harbingers of Spring will soon be bidding us farewell until next year.
“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead.”
― When We Were Very Young
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead.”
― When We Were Very Young
The snowdrops and daffodils warm our hearts when they emerge with their great colours and great shapes. Of course all climates have to have a winter, but spring is a time of optimism.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true Hels, and we certainly need plenty optimism in our lives today.
DeleteThank you for those glimpses of the garden. Plenty of variety of colour in both the hellebores and the heathers.
ReplyDeleteIt feels as if there is no turning back now John - hopefully winter is now done and dusted.
DeleteMy current garden motif is white and green, Rosemary - snow and conifer! It will be like that for a few weeks yet.
ReplyDeleteI know that when the snow melts in your corner of the world everything suddenly arrives in a hurry.
DeleteOh I am so pleased to see Spring is peeking out in your garden. We are still in the deep freeze which is very rare for here.
ReplyDeleteIt is the opposite here Janey - Spring is very early. We have received no deep freeze or snow.
DeleteOh how lovely, everything from the cut flowers to the garden layout!
ReplyDeleteYour are so generous with your lovely comments Barbara.
DeleteSome hellebores I was given are flowering for the first time. I think of cutting a couple of the flowers. (I do wonder who they are flowering so early for, no insects yet.)
ReplyDeletePerhaps they are flowering so early to bring us joy - something that everyone of us needs these days.
DeleteYour garden is so gorgeous -- a true work of art!
ReplyDeleteThank you Debra💚
DeleteHello Rosemary, I can't believe that your corner of England is not run over with real estate speculations, with so much color and beauty, and apparently perpetual sunshine. Here, which is supposed to be semi-tropical, we have had solid cold and rainy weather for the last six weeks, and the few times I have gotten out any flowers look half-dead a bedraggled--not much of a garden-like paradise.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Hello Jim - just over a week ago we found ourselves sitting beneath a 'red alert' weather warning as Storm Eunice would be passing right over our heads. We felt apprehensive and hoped nothing awful would happen. Luckily for us, she appeared to have run out of steam as she passed over but blew us a few strong gusts just to let us know that she was there. We breathed a sigh of relief, but others on this side of the country were not so fortunate.
DeleteHowever, the weather at the moment appears to be fickle all around the world. One of my followers in Texas has written above saying that they are 'in a deep freeze' at the moment which is very rare for them.
Dearest Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteThe Hellebores is such a majestic early spring flower. We had the white one and the maroon but voles ate them... MISS those gems.
Also our snowdrops, regular ones and the giant one, are gone... Sad for losing such treasures in any garden.
My Dad used to grow all colors of heaths and from early to late blooming. With the little pond and bridge, it made a favorite spot for many bridal pictures.
Hugs,
Mariette
Dear Mariette - I wonder if it was something else that destroyed your Hellebores, as I am aware that they are extremely toxic to animals and also have a foul taste. We have lots of deer coming into the garden, but they never touch them.
DeleteHeathers are so well behaved, all we have to do is give them an annual trim.
True Rosemary but maybe the aphids, leaf miners, slugs or vine weevils ate them.
Delete👍
Delete😒
DeleteDear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteYour garden is beautiful! The hellebores are so very pretty. I'm hoping to plant more of them once we get our beds sorted. We're in the midst of a chilly spell these days, hopefully the last one before winter really leaves.
Dear Lorrie - Hellebores are a great source of pleasure to have in the garden especially at this time of year. When several varieties are established together in large clusters they are a joy to see.
DeleteThese are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy seeing these first flowers of spring.
DeleteI love hellebores and yours are real beauties, Rosemary! I tried valiantly to grow them for years in less than ideal conditions, and they were such troopers trying their best :) Gardens like yours were always inspired me.
ReplyDeleteI too have tried growing flowers that I knew would be unhappy with our soil and conditions. I love the exquisite blue Himalayan poppies, Meconopsis x sheldonii, and Trilliums with their three petals sitting atop three leaves, but they dont love me.
DeleteGood to see spring arriving in your delightful garden.
ReplyDelete💚
DeleteLovely colours. I often find that one particular colour dominates at a time (quite unintentionally).
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree - I have noticed that too.
Deletehelebores are the most beautiful things, your pictures are lovely.
ReplyDeleteOnce they become well established in form large clumps, they are such a joy to have in the spring garden.
DeleteBeautiful, Rosemary, so beautiful! Helleborus and Lent roses are such beauties, and as you write: easy to keep.
ReplyDeleteThe carpet of heather is wonderful - you must have a huge garden. After the heather bloomed - did you put other plants in-between, or is the green carpet also exciting?
Snowdrops are on their height here too - and on my balcony a few daffodils raise their little heads to the sun (because of wind I have the smaller sorts). Thank you for those photos!
The heathers are still blooming Britta and will continue to do so until well into May. Once the flowers are finished we trim them and they form an interesting green cushion mound. Each plant has a different coloured green foliage ranging from a limegreen through to dark bluegreen.
DeleteYes, the first week of meteorological Spring soon after a very green mild winter.
ReplyDeleteThe winter feels as if it has passed really quickly this year. Four weeks to go until the clocks change.
DeleteWhat a lovely garden you have! Helleborus is just a fantastic flower - a favourite!
ReplyDeleteHave a happy Sunday and take care...
Titti
Hope you are having a lovely Sunday Titti - the sun is out here and the sky is blue which makes me happy.
DeleteBeautiful flowers and very lovely garden!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your generous comment.
DeleteDear Rosemary - How lovely the heather tapestry is! Hellebores are beautiful in my garden, too. Though they are called “Christmas roses”, flowers start to bloom late January here. You showed the faces of the“nodding flowers” nicely laying them on a sheet. I like to float flower heads in a shallow bowl as you wrote. It turned to warm weather suddenly last week, the day that coincided with the time of that appalling invasion though. Enjoy your early spring.
ReplyDeleteYoko
Dear Yoko - we tend to call the white Hellebores a Christmas rose too. I did pick a few flowers as examples of their different colours as their faces are so difficult to photograph unless you go right down on your knees!
DeleteAs we are just starting to get over the Pandemic that terrible invasion takes place.