Hello Hellebore! You Shade Lover you!

Shade gardens have a bad reputation. Shade gardens do not have to be boring! Thanks to the hellebore - you can have early, dramatic color early in the season when even the earliest bulbs are getting their act together. I attended a class at Carolyn's Shade Gardens in Bryn Mawr, a micro-hellebore nursery. What was most striking is that they are easy and not prone to problems or pests! If you want to impress your friends and neighbors these are the flowers for you. Carolyn also showed the class how to divide a hellebore - which I love because it is economical and even looked easy! More on that in another blog post. Do you have a favorite hellebore? Does it bug you that many have their heads bowed? Or do you love the drama?

Don't Fight It -- Give in to Hellebores!

I have a lot of shade in my front and side yard - and long ago I learned to not battle the shade. There are some wonderful plants for the shade that can add color and much more.

I love hellebores because these shade lovers are early to bloom, lovely to look at and unique. Lucky for me there is a person in my area who loves hellebores too. She has created a wonderful small business promoting shade plants - and hellebores in particular. She hosts open house sales a few times a year and is offering a seminar next month. I will be attending a seminar on hellebores in a few weeks, and as you might imagine I will take pictures and video of the session.

If you are local - here is the info on the seminar. The details below came directly from the invitation.

Where: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
http://www.carolynsshadegardens.com/

When: Friday, March 18, from 10 to 11:30 am OR
Saturday, March 19, from 10 to 11:30 am

Cost: $25 per person (Attendance is limited to 15 people )

You will learn:

 How to grow and maintain them
 How to propagate them by division and seedlings
 How to pick the best plants
 The difference between “species” and. “hybrid” hellebores
 What is special about the 15 or so species of hellebores
 Some of the interesting new species crosses available
 A selection of hellebores will be available for purchase

Registration: Send a note to carolynsshadegardens ( at)verizon (dot) net

Post the questions you would like me to ask Carolyn -- I will be sure to get answers for all of our readers! Send me your questions! Kathleen at GMG