Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Float Your Hellebores
You know those garden catalogs showing masses of disembodied hellebore flowers? Did you ever think about how they get those photos? I never did until I noticed some of those flowers were sinking.
Did you ever notice how many photos of hellebore flowers include the hand that's holding them upright for the camera? That's how most of my hellebore photos used to be, but no more.
I ran out and snipped all the almost-open flowers because the weather service told us there was a big winter storm coming. When will I stop believing these people? Well, I have to thank them for making me act, because this is my new favorite way to look at hellebores. Especially those dark colors that I admire so much which don't show up well in the garden.
Most of the flowers in that photo are from an order of mixed hellebore hybrids from Pine Knot Farms, via Wayside Gardens. They took a year or two to bloom and now I'm a hellebore convert. I used to think they were boring, but the hybridizers have made wonderful improvements in the last 10 years or so. Pine Knot Farms Hellebore Festival is today and next weekend, and might be worth a road trip. I'm probably not going to make it this year, but I'll pencil it in for next year.
Labels: hellebores
14 Comments:
That's a very interesting way to showcase flowers! I have yet to try hellebores but I just may with all these wonderful pictures showing up in garden blogs recently.
A great way to SEE your hellebore flowers since most of them face down ward .. i have only the standard Orientalis ? but I do love it. I like this method for some roses as well !
Joy
That is a great idea, especially with bad weather possibly coming. Love that dark color. I think that is my favorite hellebore color.
Beautiful rich dark color on your hellebores. I have yet to see any buds much less blooms on any of our hellebores including H. niger. The first snow accumulation of any note this Friday (+3") didn't help matters much. I will remember this trick on displaying the flowers. Let us know how long the blooms last.
Hi, thank you for coming over and leaving a comment :)
your hellebore picture is great.
I suspect that there are tricks applied in most of the pictures in gardening magazines.
Vanillalotus: Give them a try - maybe you'll become a convert too! For me, they take a while to settle in and make a nice display, but now I think it's worth the wait.
Gardenjoy4me: Exactly! I've done this with other cut flowers, but don't know why it never occurred to me to display hellebores that way.
Robin: I'm with you on the color. I wish I could think what to call it. Plum, maybe?
Ki: I think you got the winter weather we were supposed to get. I think the flowers will last a long time in water, but I'll post an update.
Ewa: That's so true about the photography in gardening magazines (and real estate advertising) ;-) Everything shown to the best possible advantage.
You used to think Hellebores were boring? LOL, what's in a name?
Great way to enjoy those gorgeous Hellebore flowers and if you want to see some more, come on over to my blog and feast your eyes!
Very cool. I float roses quite a bit (habit from my grandma) but I never thought to try hellebores. How long do they last for you in the dish? (Just curious.)
Have you been channeling Andy Rooney again? ;^) I have floated Hellebores - when I accidently cut off a blooming stalk when trimming the old leaves. (Has happened repeatedly.) Your darks are exquisite!
Yolanda Elizabet: Helleborezzzzz. Now I'm sorry I ever wrote anything bad about them. I'll be right over to see yours!
Blackswamp Girl: These have stayed in good shape for about 4 or 5 days now. The ones that were just starting to open are in better shape than ones that were more open, or oddly, ones that were not open at all. I thought those would open once indoors, but?
Mr. McGregor's Daughter: Did you ever notice how that Andy Rooney thing happens as people get older? ;-) I have to confess that I don't usually remove the old foliage unless it looks really bad. But I'm thinking of cutting all the flowers and bringing them in the house - they just look so much better up close.
They look wonderful, Entangled - 5 days in the bowl of water? Since they're beautiful, come in exotic colors, are expensive and are difficult to grow, will hellebores be the next flower demanded by Brides?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Greetings from Vermont where the hellebores are covered with five feet of snow and 16" is on the way tonight. Hellebores are really a great plant and I am happy to see the growing interest in them.
A friend who lives not too, too many mountain ranges away from you in West Virginia, has one of the finest collections of hellebores I know. Take a look at Barry Glick's site, Sunshine Farm and Gardens http://sunfarm.com/ He has a nice selection and the plants are thick, healthy and quick to take.
George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
Annie: Hmmm, I think these colors are maybe a little moody for a wedding, but who knows?
George Africa: Five feet of snow? Oh my. When does spring come to Vermont?
Re Barry Glick. He left a comment here a few months ago linking to his site, but no chit-chat. Some folks wish he would stay and visit instead of only leaving advertising. But I do think he raises interesting plants.
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