Winter’s Wonders

There’s a lot happening in the world of hellebores. Recent breeding has introduced new colors, never-before-seen shapes and even longer bloom times for these nearly perfect perennials. Perhaps all this renewed interest in hellebores is because they’re so easy to grow. Perhaps it’s because they bloom way before anything else—allowing you fresh-picked bouquets like the one at left even in winter. Or perhaps it’s simply because gardeners find their jewel tones so gosh-darn hard to resist.

“Their allure certainly arises from their precocious bloom time,” says C. Colston Burrell, author of “Gardeners yearn for year-round bloom, and hellebores deliver a dose of spring in the winter months. The flowers are colorful and borne in profusion. They are also long-lasting. Because the showy parts of the flowers are sepals, not petals,