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Hellebores by Helen Rock
In a class of their own for partnering early bulbs
are the hellebores, both the evergreen and herbaceous kinds. They
make the perfect companion for snowdrops, snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum)
and the smaller narcissi, which come up prettily between their strongly
defined leaves to make an exceptional picture in winter and spring.
As if that wasn't enough, hellebores stay strong and handsome for
quite a long time and are ace at masking the same bulbs' dying foliage,
which you must of course leave on to feed back into the exhausted
mother bulbs. Hardy geraniums, in all their variety, also make excellent
companions for bulbs, as do many ferns and some grasses.
The word 'hellebore' is from the Greek and means something like
'to kill' (hellin) and 'food' (borus). They are paid-up members
of the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup family, which boasts at the very
least 2,000 species among its family members (the Chinese say it's
more like 2,500), most of which are herbaceous and found in both
temperate and subtropical hemispheres. Two non-herbaceous exceptions
are woody Clematis of all kinds, and the shrubby Xanthorhiza. Herbaceous
Buttercup cousins include some of the choicest of woodlanders, such
as Anemone, Nigella, Pulsatilla, Aquilegia, Delphinium, Hepatica,
Aconitum, Trollius and lovely Thalictrum.
One of the earliest to flower is Helleborus niger, the often pure
white Christmas Rose, so called because it's said to sometimes flower
for the festivities, though it never has for me. The niger part
of its name refers to the roots, which are black and were used by
apothecaries and herbalists to treat a range of ills, from mania
to melancholia and maggots. Others, including the Lenten Rose and
all the wonderful new Oriental hybrids now in cultivation, come
later in a fabulous array of colour shades ranging from white, to
green-on-green and on through pale yellow, pink, purple, slate,
strange dark reds, almost black to mottled hues. Their flowers are
wonderful picked and floated in a shallow bowl of water.
There are two types of hellebore: the truly herbaceous, which dies
back for a few months of the year, and the evergreen. The latter
are H. corsicus, lividus, foetidus and their numerous hybrid offspring,
which produce a leafy stem one year and carry flowers at their apex
the next. Their leaves are all prone to ugly dark blotches but if
you simply snip off any affected leaves, the improvement is instantaneous
and the flowers have a chance to show off their uncluttered beauty.
One of my own favourites is the unshowy, evergreen H. foetidus,
an excellent plant that self-seeds freely. Handsome and strong,
it has very dark, finely-cut palmate leaves and palest green flowers
tinged with maroon at the edges. It has poise, can withstand very
bad weather and quite dry shade at the margins of big deciduous
trees and is ideal for lending structure and interest to difficult
parts of the garden in winter. After flowering, simply cut out all
the big, floppy flowered stems at ground level and let the plant
fade into the background as spring growth burgeons all around it.
Another good evergreen is the handsome Corsican
hellebore, also found in Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. This
bushy cousin has stout stems and beautiful tripartite greyish-green
leaves like good leather, with prickly edges. Its pendent flowers
of the palest green are produced in large clusters, up to about
three feet in height and look absolutely lovely in company with
early Iris reticulata. This Corsican group likes a sunny and well-drained
spot, as you can well imagine they might.
Cultivation of hellebores is not difficult. Most kinds will live
in shade, or sun, planted in moist, leafy, retentive but reasonably
drained soil that doesn't dry out completely during the summer.
Their requirements are few - a good mulch of organic matter in autumn
and again in February is ideal, though they'd benefit also from
an extra feed, preferably in liquid form, after flowering. Diluted
seaweed would be perfect. Mulch and feeding aside, the hellebores
all like to be left alone once established. Many self-seed freely
and the resultant seedlings, which can be moved away from the parent
plant when large enough to handle, can give you interesting sports
of your own.
A good time to buy in new hellebore hybrids is from late January
into March, when they're coming into flower. Then you can see exactly
what you're getting, which is important, as some can be quite insipid
and not at all beautiful or inspiring. If you are on the look out
for good value hellebores, try Mount Venus Nursery in the walled
garden at Tibradden. Their sturdy stock, which often throws up some
glorious colours, is mainly descended from special nursery seed
brought over by Liat Schurmann when she left Germany to live and
work in Ireland circa a decade ago. ?
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