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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, February 2015


This is the month for Hellebores in this my neck of the woods.  Here's Helleborus niger 'Unico'


An interesting tidbit about double Hellebores from Wikipedia: "Recent breeding programs have also created double-flowered and anemone-centered plants.  Ironically, doing this is actually reversing the evolutionary process in which hellebores' true petals had been modified into nectaries which become the extra petals in double, semi-double, and anemone-centered flowers."

I remember the first year that Dan Hinkley showed up at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show with some of his first double hellebores which became the hit of the show.  As I recall, they were fairly expensive back then.  Fortunately, they now cost about the same as any other hellebore.  This was one of my first doubles that I got years ago by participating in a buying co-op.  We got a flat of year old seedlings and shared them.

New in my garden H. 'Anna's Red' is a sweet thing with beautiful flowers and foliage.  I look forward to it growing a larger clump!

Hellebore 'Onyx Odyssey'



Such a welcome sight during the winter months!

Is it in poor taste to look up a lady's skirt?  Let's just call this lifting her head to see her lovely face because that sounds so much nicer.

A favorite of mine is beautiful looking shyly downward.

Equally lovely this way!

Hope you're not bored looking at these yet.  I've more but will end with this cutie.


In case you were wondering, yes, Abutilon megapotamicum is still blooming but my pictures were dreadful this time.  Also still blooming are Chimonanthus praecox "Luteus," Sarcococca  and Lonicera fragrantissima.  Add to that fragrant symphony the super sweet notes of Daphne odora on a 65 degree day and zowie, there's quite an olfactory treat in the garden!

Inherited Galanthus have spread all over my garden 


With the help of the darling squirrels, crocus from this bed are now also blooming in the lawn, in other beds and random pots.  I don't mind at all!


Speaking of spreading, these violets came from somewhere and started as one small plant.  They've spread a bit and now there's a nice sized patch that is smothering out the grass in the lawn.  I'm not fond of lawn but can't plant in this particular area because periodically, we have to erect scaffolding on top of this area.  I do love these violets and the fact that they're evergreen, need no or very little water in the summer, and their density of growth smothers out everything else.  How long do you suppose it will take these to get rid of of the grass in the lawn?  If I want them to spread, should I cut the clump up and deposit bits all through the lawn?

Here's another question:  Should I  cut all of this splayed out growth off of Helleborus argutifolius after it's done blooming or should I let the new growth emerging from the middle hide the bare legs of the earlier foliage and leave the whole thing alone?


The Camellia japonicas are in full swing now!  


 Bright red!  Yum. 


Hey, I didn't kill Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' after all.  Go figure.  It's a bit late in blooming this year.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane'

Jasminum nudiflorum

Stachyurus praecox with swelling buds will be in bloom by the end of the month.

Euphorbia wulfenii

Grevillea victoriae 'Marshall'

Garrya elliptica.  The tete a tete daffodils are open and today the first full sized daffodil started to show color but it isn't open yet. 
On the fifteenth of each month, Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for bloggers around to share what's blooming in their gardens.  Click here to go to her blog and see beautiful blooms from around the world!

42 comments:

  1. Lovely camellias, and I'm glad I got to look up that skir- I mean, at that face. The white one with deep maroon speckles is gorgeous. Oh and the grevillea too!

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    1. I think of you whenever I see that grevillea, it being native to your part of the world. Happy GBBD, Amy!

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  2. I love this Garrya, it's pity it's not hardy for my garden. And I also envy you Peter - you have so pretty hellebore!
    Happy GBBD!

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    1. The Garrya is a native plant in this area. I am so lucky to live where all of these plants bloom in the winter! Happy new week, Nadezda!

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  3. Beautiful flowers! All of them!
    I love Hellebores! They bloom when it is still winter and the flowers last a long time
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea

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    1. Thank you Lea! I love plants that bloom at this time of year with the promise of spring and summer to come! Happy GBBD to you!

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  4. Beautiful flowers! I really liked the first hellebore, I had never seen one like that one.

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    1. That hellebore was new to me this spring & since the foliage was so beautiful, I had to bring it home.

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  5. What a grand display of hellebores. I looked and there are cultivars that would grow here. I am not going to plant any, just enjoy yours.

    Freezing nights off and on are doing mischief to my Camellias but they soldier on, opening more blooms when weather permits.

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    1. We are lucky that hellebores like this region so much. Camellias are such wonderful and tough plants!

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  6. I loved seeing your Hellebores. My GBBD post was all Hellebores, and I'm hoping it wasn't Hella-boring. Even with all I've got, that Onyx Odyssey sure is tempting, and I really should have bought a couple of Anna's Red at the show too.

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    1. Onyx Odyssey is pretty gorgeous. I saw some unnamed red hellebores at Home depot yesterday that look like Anna's Red to me. 12.00 a gallon.

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  7. I love the violets. It was my mother's name and she loved them too. Mine aren't blooming yet.
    I have to say, as much as I like all hellebores, I do prefer the single flowers with all of the lovely purple dots and the fancy centers. I wish they would all look up at me like the new ones do.

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    1. I truly would like the violets to take over the lawn in front - beautiful and carefree ground cover! One of those chem lawn (or some such) outfits left a card on our porch telling us that they could get rid of the unwanted weeds they noticed in our lawn. They'd actually looked and made note of what they noticed (violets and moss.) I love lawn in some places but our little drop from the house to the sidewalk isn't one of them. I agree with you about hellebore flowers looking up but we can't have everything, right?

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  8. With all those blooms on showcase it looks very springlike in your garden. Two of your hellebores I strongly covet now: Unico and Onyx Odyssey.

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    1. Because of our recent warm weather and mild winter, the garden thinks it's spring already. Unico was new to me this year. That foliage will look heavenly in a shady spot, won't it? Onyx Odyssey is worth finding!

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  9. There can never be too many hellebores. They're beautiful. Not least because they start so early. The beginning of the gardening season for me. Yippee!

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    1. I concur! Hooray for the beginning of the gardening season. We've had such warm temperatures lately that it seems as if winter has simply passed us over. Fingers crossed that there aren't any late freezes!

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  10. I only have one hellebore in bud and after hitting subzero last night, it probably regrets not going dormant. I buy whatever hellebore is touted as the most drought resistant, especially the Pine Knot Strain which is very affordable and available locally. Pine Knot Farms is a VA hellebore farm known for breeding iron-tough hellebores. But I would love love love to have some of those doubles and really want one with marbled/variegated foliage. Sigh....

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    1. How would you and your husband feel about a long distance relationship? Seriously though, I bet that Pine Knot Farms has produced some spectacular Hellebores for your climate!

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  11. Wow! - what a collection of hellebores! I have only 2 but I've ordered more, which unfortunately won't be shipped until late March so there's little to no hope they'll bloom in my climate this year but maybe next year!. All the rain droplets in your pictures also made me very envious...

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    1. Hellebores can become an addiction. Here there aren't as many cool things in bloom as there are in your climate this time of year so the hellebores really shine. The pictures were taken a week or so ago when there were rain droplets on everything. We're now having a nice dry spell. I'd hoped that the rain had found its way to you!

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  12. Your garden is much further along than mine. I was certain my hellebores would be available for GBBD photos, but they are still closed, except for one. Maybe they are playing it smart.

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    1. We've had a mild winter and unusually warm temperatures the last couple of weeks making the plants think it's spring already. Hoping that we don't have a late season freeze as it would damage so many things! In the northern part of the state, they are worrying about having tulips still in bloom for their tulip festival in April.

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  13. I have that splayed out problem with my one mature Hellebore. Every year, I promise myself that after it has bloomed out, I will cut off all of the old stalks and stake the new ones coming up in the center of the clump. Sadly, this would happen at a time when there are a multitude of other chores and I never get around to it. If this is the year, I'll let you know if it's the way to go.

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    1. I had one do this before and cut off all of the flopped over stuff and it died the next year. There's nothing trying to grow under there (maybe weeds) and since the new growth will cover the bare legs, maybe I'll just leave it. This also appeals to my lazy gardener side!

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  14. Well, you've certainly planned for winter, Peter! I don't remember my Corsican hellebore sprawling that much, but I do but them back if they're in the way of spring/summer stuff.

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    1. A few years ago, I read Dan Hinkley's book about ornamental plants for winter interest and made a point to include as many as I could. The winter color is sweet and reminds us that spring is just around the corner!

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  15. What gorgeous things you have in flower. You are obviously an expert at choosing lovely things to bloom at this season. You are ahead of us with your violets and Stachyurus coming into bloom. I am drooling over your wonderful hellebores. Gorgeous.
    Helleborus argutifolius always flops. I stake it or it ends up looking awful.

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    1. Thank you Chloris. I'm not an expert at all but love visiting nurseries year round and so many of them have lovely displays in the winter... I'm glad to know that Helleborus argutifolius flops for other gardeners as well. I thought I was doing something wrong. I'll stake it from now on!

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  16. What gorgeous things you have in flower. You are obviously an expert at choosing lovely things to bloom at this season. You are ahead of us with your violets and Stachyurus coming into bloom. I am drooling over your wonderful hellebores. Gorgeous.
    Helleborus argutifolius always flops. I stake it or it ends up looking awful.

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  17. What a treat to see so much in bloom! I love all the double Hellebores. I have just the singles, but have wanted at least one double for some time. I do like violets, too, as long as they stay out of the garden:)

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    1. Hellebores are lovely both single and double and I hope you get a double soon to add to your collection! Yes, violets in the flower beds can be a disaster. I have some there and keep trying to get rid of them!

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  18. Wow, some very pretty blooms and your selection of Hellebores are lovely, each and every one. I don't have any doubles in my garden, I think I need to change that now.
    Your garden is such a delight this February.

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    1. Thank you, Angie! I agree, you would love some doubles in your garden. Of course, I always think it's a good idea to buy more plants!

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  19. Ah, so many lovely blooms! I'm impressed with 'Unico'. Sometimes variegation can mess up the flowers.

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    1. The variegation seems not to have messed up the flowers on this one but the leaves are so beautiful that the flowers don't have the same impact as they would on a solid green plant. Still, with that foliage in the shade, who cares if the thing never blooms?

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  20. Beautiful hellebores! In answer to your question: at the end of the winter I just cut off all the brown dead leaves. I apply some compost and that's all the care mine get for the whole year. It will be weeks before my blooms appear from under the snow. I linked to your hellebores on my blog today. P. x

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  21. You have lots of flowers going on, I'm still lusting after your double hellebores, I haven't found a good buy on them yet. The Witch Hazel Diane is a great red color. I'm still waiting for Yuletide to bloom, great to see yours. The Grevillea Marshal is a lovely red too.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.