Probably the earliest perennial plant to flower in the garden is the Hellebores (Christmas Rose). In spite of their common name, they normally start to flower in January.
The white variety Hellebore Niger is the most well known of the species. With so many hybrids there are now plenty to choose from. Different shades of pink, purples, green, and some with flowers so dark in colour they are almost black. Hellebore’s grow happy in shade and like plenty organic matter in the soil, give them a mulch every spring.
At this time of year remove all of the old leaves, which makes for a much tidier looking plant. A good idea also is to spread bark chippings around the plants, this prevents the flowers from falling on to the soil and spoiling the appearance. They can suffer from a type of black-spot, just remove the damaged leaves to prevent the spread of the disease.
Hellebore Purpurascens has a soft purple flower and is the earliest of all to bloom, as early as December in more southerly locations.
© 2006 – 2008, Alistair. All rights reserved.
