Helleborus niger 'Praecox'
Plants at My Front Door
Last year I had a rather autocratic message from the UK suggesting that my love of limey, gold and chartreuse plants could lead me down the path to "brassy" tastelessness.
I bristled at this, but tried to ascertain whether this was a fair comment. My critic, perhaps had not taken into account that I live in a completely different environment from her, and that the quality of light and extremes of climate affect our reaction to colour in a different way.
In our hot, humid summers and brilliant sunshine, I find that these yellow/greens are actually cooling and rather than being strident, are very subdued and complimentary to other colours in the garden.
Well, judge for yourself. I'm showing here an arrangement of plants at my front door, which I find very pleasing, A cooling vignette in the last few days of a very hot summer.
Plants at my front door.
Durantia, Angelonia 'Purple Stripe' and purple Callibrachoa.
Coleus 'Fishnet Stockings...
Comments
Joy
Glad you like this plant. It is incredibly hardy and is in bloom now and survives sub-zero temperatures.
I get great pleasure out of these too. And aren't those early blooms welcome after our severe winters.
Always glad to hear from a fellow gardener in the "banana-belt" south of Bloor.
H.niger 'Praecox' seems to be the earliest to flower in this part of the world. And I hope mine will continue to bloom right into Spring ( with a little protection of light mulch).
As for buying Hellebores, that is a bit of a tricky question; they are readily available from garden centres and nurseries, but since these don't open to the public until April, I find that the hellebores are often past their best. Since they are all unique, it's better to choose your plant when it's first in bloom. For that reason, I may be organizing a Hellebore sale early next Spring. I'll let you know is that happens.
lovely hellebores...I just planted H. niger 'Praecox' and hope to see a similar scene on a year or two...
About where to find hellebores, there is a nursery called Phoenix Perennials near Vancouver, BC which has a great selection. Every year they have a hellebore event, called the 'Hellebore Hurrah' and carry probably the largest selection of hellebore varieties in the country, from some of the top breeders in North America. The nursery is just about to begin mail order business as well. Check out their website Phoenixperennials.com.
Best,
Jo Turner
PS I work for them on a part-time basis, and give a few workshops.
What a coincidence, I was just looking at the Pheonix site this morning. I was most impressed and would certainly try to visit when I'm out west again. The other coincidence is the fact that after years of being disappointed by the availability of Hellebores here in Southern Ont. I'm organizing a similar event called "Hellebores Galore"... this all happens next weekend April 2 and 3.
A bit nerve-wracking really, as we had a late snowstorm yesterday that took us by surprise. Wish us luck!