I'm not a fan of hellebores, even though your clearance rack purchase is nice and healthy now. Not sure why, they just don't appeal to me. But I love bleeding hearts and peonies.

My bleeding heart seeds have germinated. Sown on Dec 21. The peonies were ripped from the ground in VA, stored in the garage for a few days, and sort of planted out two months ago. They've been "fixing to bloom" now for weeks.

I need to find a spot to create a couple of new beds in the backyard this summer. If only I had more sunlight...

Token, I did not think I would care much for hellebores either, but the deep blue green leaves stay evergreen while little else does in my area and forms a nice sized clump while other plants are still tiny. And so many buds/blossoms so early in the spring. Mine may be later than others as it gets covered with 4-5 feet of snow from clearing the driveway and entry. When the snow melts that deep blue green brightens up the area.

Love your new raised beds are they lasagna?

Pericallis Blue bicolor, calibrachoa 'Saffron', diasca 'Appleblossom' solenostemon scutellarioides 'Chocolate Drop' trailing coleus, euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'

Love that picture as well. I tired a Hellebores but it
croaked after the second year, without ever setting flower.
Probably my fault. Would like to try one more time.

Nice beds!
Mary

Thanks, Mary, only the new bed for grasses is lasagna. The sod was dug up in the others and amendments added. Some of the sod went to the neighbors and some went into my compost bin as a green. Some went to the landfill as it was quack grass. I still need to add more greens to the lasagna bed and have been getting UCG from my local Starbucks.

Glad I dug the long front bed and the iris bed last fall as my knee is bad this spring and this ole gal who has never had allergies now has spring allergies. Not getting as much done as I would like but keep plugging away.

Maybe you need to try another location for your hellebore. I have mine under the locust tree facing southwest. Haven't done anything special for it.

I love your Hellebore, I tried starting three of them last year, they seemed to do fine all summer, but didn't come back this spring. I am thinking I had them in an area that was to dry and shady. I might have to see about finding some this year, and try a different spot. Maybe on the SW side of my huge old oak tree, out about 6 feet?

Jenny P

If I happen across any this year on the clearance rack, I may grab one or two just to try them. I did that with shirley poppies, tried them. Hate em. I prefer oriental poppies. I think I like Hucheras more than hellebores.

Tom, I think they take shade because my gardening friend near Univ. of Md. has them in her back yard which is mostly shade but filtered light. Hers are so pretty. She collects everybody's bags of leaves that they have bagged up for the city to collect, her husband shreds them and she uses it as mulch, then sprinkled potting soil on top of the shredded leaves. The shredded leaves act like mulch and compost at same time. I didn't see any weed growing in her back yard when I was there.