February Blooms in my Georgia Garden: Hellebores

Since Georgia has many days of nice warm weather in Winter, I'm adding as many winter blooming plants as I can find to our garden. Hellebores are evergreen perennial plants that bloom after Christmas in a rainbow of colors in shades of magenta, rose, mauve, and cream. Some blooms are even speckled. 

Often called Lenten Rose or Christmas Rose, Hellebores aren’t really roses at all, but are in the buttercup family. Hellebore is a very low-maintenance plant that thrives in dry shade—that’s right, dry shade! 

When not blooming, Hellebores have interesting, shiny, dark green foliage with leaves often serrated or even palmate.

It is a long-lived perennial offering years of beauty in the shade garden.

Hardy in USDA Zones 4-8, hellebores require no special care. 

They spread with time, self-sowing to form clumps up to 2 feet across in just a few years. Amend the soil well with organic matter when planting, and you’ll be rewarded with many years of beauty. 

Hellebores are a great substitute for Hosta, but are even better. Hellebores are evergreen and deer proof - the deer will not eat them! 

No matter what you decide to plant in your garden, get out there and enjoy it. And remember to thank God for the rain we’ve received!