Hellebores 2009

[Jo]

On Marks recommendation I went to Linnet Farm,  and he is quite right, its full of lovely hellebores.  I'll post pics of the ones I bought tomorrow.  Really well worth a 1 : 25,000 OS if not a satnav 

[Jo]

Here are some hellebores from Linnet Farm. Firstly some doubles

[Jo]

And here are some singles and a hellebore wedding photo.  I chose these ones because all of them look good from above which is how you seem to see them in a garden. 
I might have gone a bit mad but at £5 for a single and £8 for a double they seemed too good to miss, and they bring new blood to my genetic stock

[Maggi Young]

Cor! My wallet would have taken a beating there, too. I think those prices are more than reasonable.... it would have been too rude of you not to have bought some, Jo 

[Jo]

You salve my conscience Maggi 

[ian mcenery]

Jo some good value here but I have spent all I am going to on hellebores (famous last words) and have started to grow own seedlings  (some deliberate crosses from my Ashwood plants which are now growing on my allotment.

Here is one of my Niger plants which unfortunately has a little damage caused by the snow earlier but flowering well.

[johngennard]

I love the hellebores too and the prices quoted are very reasonable.However for those out there who feel that they don't want to afford them and are prepared to be patient I can reccomend seed from Ashwood although not doubles of course.At £3.25 for 8 seeds with usually 100% germination that's roughly 40p.each.I picked this selection this afternoon and they are the very first flowers from plants grown from seed sown in 2006 and growing in the open ground in my veg.patch.

[Maggi Young]

Ian, your H. niger is doing well...... wish ours would look that good. My Auntie has really good old plants which flower profusely, and early, but they don't care for life in the town, thirty odd miles away.   


John, a delightful selection and  a very prettty display.... and not so very long form seed, eh? 

[ian mcenery]

Maggi I think that I am quite cruel with the plant.  I let it get swamped by herbaceous plants in the summer and it seems grow much better than those grown more traditionally. Gives 2 for the price of 1 

John nice selection

[mark smyth]

Here is the best double Hellebore I have ever seen. It was found/bought at Basil Smith's last weekend

[maggiepie]

Wow Mark, I have never seen an hellebore flower that even remotely looked like that.
Does it face upwards or was it positioned for the pic?
Tis a real beauty.

[mark smyth]

Here's the new hybrid from Ashwoods. thibetanus x niger 'Pink Ice'

[Jo]

Hi Ian,

I do agree that its fun and cheaper to grow from seed, and I do grow a lot that way. Doubles often come true and anemone centres turn up as well. I can't resist buying in new genetic stock though.

Mark that's a truely lovely double, I hope you'll get some seed from it. I'm planning on sowing all the seed from those I've just bought cos they were already pollinated at Basil's so should have some good blood.

[Maggi Young]

I see that Jim McKenney.... whose blog I commend to you... http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ has been asking if any of us still refer to hellebores as "Lenten Roses" ..... it is certainly a common name heard still in Scotland for these gems..... more common, perhaps, than the habit of observing Lent. 

[mark smyth]

Bob got his mits on it first