FOTD: Hellebores, again

A man walking by the house asked me about these today, and I was glad to talk about them. I now have ten, several of which have grown into fairly large clumps. But I never would have gotten addicted to them if not for three important factors:

-Interesting varieties in different colors and double forms are now commonly available, especially from Plant Delights, and they seem to be just as vigorous as the single whites I started out with. It looks like I have Onyx Odyssey and Kingston Cardinal, and (maybe) Ivory Prince, as well as some I can’t guess at.

 -They have a really long flowering period. They start in April (March this year) and the flowers hang on through June.

-They not only love shade, they can thrive in dry shade and compacted, root-ridden soil. 

 

I am considering carpeting the entire front garden in them.