Monday, March 15, 2021

May we Bore you with our Foetid Hellebore?

 One plant that has been quite an unsung favourite in our garden for its fairly unfussy yet interesting ground cover has been the Foetid Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), we initially planted one on the edge of a gravel pathway in the middle of the garden many years ago, and have been rewarded with a constant supply of young plants growing in the gravel every year. 

We have transplanted these with mixed successes, finding it prefers a brighter spot than we often give the young plants. But in the brighter locations it thrives.

One such place is the raised bed by the koi pond filters, where conditions have been a little harsh, a neighbouring conifer in next doors garden provides a rain shelter keeping it much dryer than we had anticipated, most of the woodland plants we had previously tried had failed, however Helleborus foetidus has been a success, filling the edge of the bed and giving the lush feel we were after.

Foetid Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus)

Foetid Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus)

The lime green flowers might not be to everyones taste, and as the name suggests, they are rather pungent when disturbed.

Gaz

11 comments :

  1. I adore green flowers. I just planted 3 new hellebores in a very shady location and your comment about yours preferring brighter conditions has renewed my concern that the spot I chose may be took dark but we shall see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With your warmer temps they may do just fine in your shady spots, fingers crossed!

      Delete
  2. Not boring at all and I love a play on words!
    I had this in a previous garden and can't for the life of me understand why I haven't planted it here. Strangely I could never pick up the smell. And the leaves make a lovely contrast to the flowers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well worth planting one out this year, and once you get them to bloom they'll self seed nicely :) it'll look great in your garden!

      Delete
    2. You have to crush the leaves to get the smell.

      Delete
  3. A beautiful plant. I love the foliage as well as the flowers. How you have it with the leaves hanging over the wall is great. The flowers look like hands reaching over the wall.

    My H. argutifolius was quite stinky when it flowered, but not nearly so attractive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hellebores are still underrated for their foliage, and they have so many varieties too

      Delete
  4. I have one with loveky red stems called 'Wester Flisk'.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've been pondering planting some of those... but having read your post I'm now having a rethink as they were going to go in a shady spot. Interesting they like your gravel though...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are probably ok with light shade, we have tried them in heavy shade without success. I haven't noticed any geminate on the beds, just the gravel pathway in front of them.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to reply to our post, we love reading comments and hearing your views.

Due to the increased level of spam, please note comments on older posts are moderated and only published after approval. All new comments are read and any spam is deleted.