Hellebores Are OK With Me
It took me a while to warm up to Hellebores. These days I don’t love them, but I do like them pretty much.
At first, I did not want to plant Hellebores because they were not native to North America (I favor natives, though not exclusively), and they seemed to have very limited wildlife value.
My Hellebore resistance began to break down when Judy asked me why we didn’t have any. If Judy wants a given plant, I will generally incorporate some into the garden, provided that it is well-adapted to our conditions.
This was a conversation that we had frequently enough that our older son, at about age 12, came up with his own parody of it, which he would perform as a one man show:
Danny/Voice 1: How come we don’t have any Purple Wombat Flowers?
Danny/Voice 2: I didn’t think you liked Purple Wombat Flowers.
Danny/Voice 1: I love Purple Wombat Flowers!
And so on.
So anyhow, I eventually bought some Hellebores about two years before last fall. I wasn’t very careful noting the species, but I believe they were all Helleborus x hybridus or Helleborus orientalis. I used them to plant one edge of the Back Garden Island Bed and another rather difficult shady spot.
Gradually, I came to appreciate their good points. For instance, they flower over a very long period starting in early spring. The flowers do look a bit like roses in purple or white with purple freckles, hence the common name “Lenten Rose”. (Though they do have an annoying habit of facing downwards.)
They are tough plants that tolerate shade and somewhat dry soil, and require very little attention.
They form a low-growing mass of handsome, shiny green leaves. And because Hellebores are toxic, they are left undisturbed by rabbits and other critters.
And I may have been hasty in assuming Hellebores have no wildlife value. As an early spring bloomer, they provide forage to those bees that emerge while flowers are still scarce.
So I will never be a Hellebore aficionado. I don’t think I will ever swoon over a blooming mass of Hellebores the way might over, say, Tulips. And I will never obsess over the many Hellebore species and varieties. But they are worthy and attractive plants, and I’m happy to have them in the garden.
Now if only I can find some Purple Wombat Flowers.
gardeninacity 
I think one reason I like Hellebores is the dramatic foliage that slugs ignore unlike Hostas.
Luckily I don’t have a slug problem. The foliage is handsome – the palmate shape and shiny dark green color.
I adore my Hellebores. They flower much earlier here than they do for you there in Chicago, and we do have some with more upward facing flowers. The Dunn Garden here in Seattle has a swath of black Hellebore flowers that is very impressive.
At first I was expecting my Hellebores to bloom much earlier, then I realized that is only in milder climates.
I only really began to notice Hellebores when I started reading gardening blogs, and saw lots of close up photos. They can be so easily overlooked in a garden, perhaps because many of them face down in the garden beds.
It’s true they don’t grab your attention, you have to make a point of examining them.
well, I have never grown any and cannot remembering seeing them in anyone’s garden, either. Don’t even think I have ever noticed them in the garden center, but will certainly check this weekend.
I suppose they are not as common as they might be in the US.
I love hellebores and would like to have dozens of them. My yard is mostly shady, and I like having lots of evergreen plants. In Richmond VA, hellebores give me year-round foliage and beauty in the shade, plus blooms in winter.
I’m not quite fond enough of them to want dozens, at least not in a small garden like ours. Sounds like they perform really well for you.
I like Hellebores for the very reasons you mention. Plus Rabbits don’t eat them but their little ones like to hide in them. If you ever find Purple Wombat flowers I want some too.
I’ll let you know if I find the Purple Wombat Flowers.
Some plants win you over! Alas, hellebores did not make it in my garden. Sigh. Another plant bought and lost.
Huh, I wonder why.
Don’t know!
Hellebores just aren’t my thing. I have one and, well, as you put it “it’s okay.”
I prefer plants with brighter, more colorful flowers. But Hellebores do pull their weight.
In or neck of the woods, hellebores start blooming in the winter when little else is happening in our gardens. If they didn’t bloom until tulip and daffodil time, I might not be as fond of them as I am. Some have really handsome evergreen foliage (check out helleborus multifidus subsp. hercegovinus) Just about anything that is evergreen gets my vote.
Good luck on your purple wombat flower quest!
Yes, the foliage can be very nice. I’ll keep an eye out for that particular subspecies.
You had me at “undisturbed by rabbits”. Long flowering is good, too.
Hellebores can be very beautiful, but I’ve never grown them either.
I’ve never understood why so many gardeners swoon over Hellebores but, like you, I have come to appreciate their good points. By the way, I have found several that manage to hold their heads up proudly…that helps.
I became enthused with Hellebores after seeing them in many British gardens (online, unfortunately, not in person). Now that I’m restoring the garden beds, I’m planning to incorporate them. They are pricey, though, but just this week a lovely lady that I volunteer with offered me some “extras”. Don’t have to ask me twice!
These are magical plants. My plants are with red and green flowers.
I’m glad you’ve come round to my way of thinking. They don’t get eaten and they bloom in winter (February in North Carolina) for a long time. What good is a tulip if it’s top is lopped off? None at all, say I.
The rabbits don’t eat my tulips in pots, or the species tulips planted in the ground. Just saying.
I saw some purple wombat flowers on sale at our local garden centre — surprised you can’t find them in your area.
Yes, but were they the native species or the Asian kind?
I agree with you on all accounts. But also the flowers are such a wonderful sight in spring peeping out of the snow! Mine are all late flowerers, so any frost damage to buds is usually minimal. And I cut off any ugly leaves to improve the view of the flowers too. 🙂
I love hellebores and have them in several places in my garden, especially in the shade. After several years when they mature, the drop seeds and the resulting “helleborelets” make great pass-along plants. For those who like flower arranging, the cut ends of hellebore should be singed (I use a candle usually) and then the latex in their stems doesn’t leak out.
The Hellebore flowers floating in a bowl look wonderful, I have to try that.
I love hellebores, ours come out in the winter and are such a welcome, long lasting splash of colour. I shall have to google purple wombat flowers now!!! xxx
I love their foliage too, which is now tall and robust and will keep the dry shady areas clothed in green until next February. I admit that I adore their flowers – I started with 2 unnamed varieties and now have hundreds with variations in color – my early bees appreciate them too.
They seem to need something a little low and bushy in front of them, mine seem to have bare ankles.
We have slugs, some are native and some non-native, so if a plant resists slug damage and tolerates summer drought, it would probably do well here. 🙂 Hellebores are beautiful!
Hellebores are among my favorites for the various reasons all have already pointed out. I feel a bit guilty, however, as I am trying hard to stick with native plants that nourish our native species with their nectar or habitat.