Monday, April 11, 2011

Hellebores? No, They're Actually Quite Interesting.

Aaaah!  Hellebores!  Run! Never heard of this genus of plants?  Me neither!  Yet a friend of mine attended a class devoted to nothing but Hellebores. And she liked it!  What's the attraction?  The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants describes the leaves as being 'toothed, (and) leathery'. Okay, uh huh, still don't like them.  Also 'all parts may cause severe discomfort if ingested and the sap may irritate skin on contact'. So informative, the AHS. And encouraging!  The actual good news is some Hellebores are very pretty, like December Dawn and Peggy Ballard. Aaaaah. Don't they sound nice?  But a whole class. Maybe to make sure you Dont-touch-those!!

The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants

1 comment:

helleNOTbores said...

The interest is that they're very early blooming plants (hence the name Lenten Rose), are good in shady spots, and have an amazing variety of foliage & flowers.