Hellebores - Lenten Roses

Hellebores - Lenten Roses, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12'"
Arches 140#CP

We may be playing the fool this year to think spring has arrived this early -- but with temperatures that reached 75F yesterday and returning to that same high today, and with flowers, trees, insects, and the rest of nature behaving as though spring HAS begun, it's hard NOT to follow along ....

The gardens are abloom with helebores ... white, pink, purple -- the nodding heads of these pretty flowers resembling roses, but they actually belong to the Ranunculaceae or buttercup family.

Hellebores have been grown for years - originally because of their medicinal properties for use as either a poison or a purgative. They're deer resistent - great for those of us who live with wildlife as neighbors! Helebores have roots in Europe but also grow in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Greece, Italy and even China. Helebores thrive in good, rich, moist, organic soil, but can also do well in acidic soils as long as they have good drainage and prefer light shade. There are dozens of varieties in wonderful colors ...!!

I don't yet have any of these in my own gardens, but I think THIS may be the year I plant a couple! These were painted from the gardens at Fearington Village, about an hour south of my home.

We're to have more rain today with temps falling a bit this weekend. We had a huge storm the other night with thunder that popped me right out of a deep sleep. There is an old belief that if it thunders in winter, snow will follow two weeks later ... well, we'll see. According to the Farmer's Almananc, I won't be getting a 'real' snowfall this year ... but just to be on the safe side of folklore ... I'm keeping my snow shovel handy!

Have a great day!