Hellebores bring a quiet glamour to the winter garden. With petals ranging from pure white to deep purple, they are varied and versatile and can be enjoyed from early winter through to late spring. Try them as festive cut flowers (particularly Helleborus niger, the Christmas rose), in pots outdoors or as larger displays in a woodland garden. They're always worth kneeling down to admire, but with their nodding flowers, hellebores do suit a raised position best.

GROWING AND MAINTAINING HELLEBORES
Hellebores prefer neutral to alkaline, well-drained, humus-rich soil in semi-shade. Containers are useful, especially for H. viridis and H. argutifolius, which prefer drier, sunnier conditions and are not fully hardy: move them to a sheltered position when necessary. Use deep pots as hellebores have a significant root run, and water fairly sparingly.

Do not bring cut hellebores directly into the warmth of the house, but let them acclimatise gradually. Longevity can be prolonged, some say, by splitting their flower stalks, or by placing a pin through the stalk at the base of the flower. A stunning display can be created by simply floating the flower heads in water or setting them in a container filled with damp moss.

Britain has two native green-flowered species: stinking hellebore (H. foetidus), so called because of its foliage, which is pungent when bruised, and the green hellebore (H. viridis). More exotic species from central and southern Europe have made themselves at home here, though some are intolerant of our cold wet winters and need to be given a little TLC. Together they have produced a diverse array of intricately patterned garden hybrids. Breeders have gone on to develop doubles and semi-double flowers, which take on flirtatious, pretty forms, such as the H. hybridus Party Dress Group, which appear to dance on their delicate stems.

Hellebores can be propagated by dividing mature plants, or by seed. They have cleverly adapted their flower parts to attract any insects braving the cold weather. Petals have become nectaries in many varieties while sepals adopt the role of the petal, providing colour and pattern to flag down potential visitors. These mock flowers survive long after fertilisation to protect the seed cases. Some seeds may germinate next to the parent crown, others are carried away by ants to other corners of the garden.

Wait for up to three years and you will be rewarded with exciting new blooms, possibly quite unlike any others you have ever seen before.

WHERE TO SEE HELLEBORES
Photographed at Hodsock Priory, Blyth, Nottinghamshire S81 0TY, (01909) 591204; www.snowdrops.co.uk. Impressive displays of hellebores and snowdrops open daily 31 January-7 March, 10 am-4 pm.

WHERE TO BUY HELLEBORES
Blackthorn Nursery, Kilmeston, Alresford, Hampshire SO24 0NL, (01962) 771796. No mail order. Special hellebore sales days on 13 and 14 February 2004, 9 am-4 pm.

Ashwood Nursery, Ashwood Lower Lane, Kingswinsford, West Midlands DY6 0AE, (01384) 401996. Mail order for seeds only.

Harveys Garden Plants, Bradfield St George, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 0AY, (01284) 386777. Special hellebore open days in 2004: 30 and 31 January, 20 and 21 February 9.30 am-4 pm.

STYLING AND WORDS JACKY HOBBS
PHOTOGRAPHS MICHELLE GARRETT
JANUARY 2004