In spite of spring being over 20 days away, Greensboro is starting to look a little greener. The hellebores and daffodils were out in full force this past weekend. Hellebores are also known as Christmas/winter/Lenten roses. They have a long blooming season and start blooming when most everything else in dormant. They even bloom before daffodils. Both of these flowers grow well in Greensboro, as seen in the above photo. Hellebores are especially happy under deciduous trees as they get plenty of light while blooming, but are somewhat protected after the sun gets more intense.
Speaking of sun, on Sunday the sun came out after many gray, rainy days. Everything looks so bright and happy when the sun comes out, everything from flowers to people. Greensboro is supposed to have several days in the 60s this week. Head to the farmers market to purchase your hellebores from Janice Nicholson, who was referred to as the "Hellebore Lady" in a 2002 News and Record article by Maria Johnson (here). Janice runs the family business, Gethsemane Gardens, east of Church Street on Highway 150, where she cultivates hellebores from seeds. The hellebores in the photo are a product of her regionally-famous green thumb!
I can't recall ever hearing of hellebores before.
Posted by: William Kendall | Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 04:36 PM