Irish Independent Weekend Magazine | 31 January 2015
Welcome to our final plant in for the January planting combination. Along with the delicate snowdrops, the architectural Blue Fescue grass and the lovely berries of last weeks plant the Viburnum, we now focus on the star of the scheme. Hellebores are absolutely stunning flowers. They are actually my favourite winter plant and there are so many different varieties that it is hard to choose one to focus on more. The type I chose is visually quite close to the Hellebore niger, the original Hellebore which is white. This particular one has the added bonus of small flecks of dusty rose in the flowers. This tiny touch of colour is really lovely. Hellebores are such a versatile plant as they are the stars of the show at this time of the year and yet throughout all seasons they provide a strong architectural backdrop for any border. Hellebores are fantastic planted in any shady or semi shady corner but they even do amazingly well in direct sun in my garden. I love how some of the flowers on these particular variety changes as it matures. So on any one plant you can find yellows, lime greens and white with a rose glow. Every Spring I fall in love with my Hellebores again. Plant them interspersed as shown above or in a creative planter such as a wine box.
Care: Once established the Hellebore is a super easy plant to look after. Just remove any dead faded or damaged foliage as the flowers appear. A good mulch in Autumn and provide shelter from strong winds.
These plants are available from all Homeland stores.
LEONIE LOVES
The new range of candles from Bog Standard are inspired by and created in Ireland so everyone may enjoy a little piece of its unique beauty. I love the names- ‘Paddy’s meadow’, ‘Molly’s Garden’ or just ‘Field’. The company also do lovely soaps, hand care and Irish linens. The products smell incredible and really evoke the feel of gardens and flowers. http://www.bogstandard.ie
