Top 10 Hellebores
Top 10 Hellebores
Here at Hayloft, we love love love hellebores. While all other plants slumber in the depths of winter, hellebores bloom. They bloom through crisp winter snow, so hardy that the frost is no foe to these wonderfully varied plants. The handsome hellebore can bring a phenomenal amount of interest to the often-colourless gardens of winter. They can be spotted, or striped, plain or picotee, some single, some double and others awesomely anemone-centred, but all are brilliantly undemanding. Discover our Top 10 Hellebores below.
Hellebore Double Ellen White Spotted
A ruffled delight with bright blooms during winter. Layers of central petals create a frilly flower that has amazing depth and dimension that becomes even more eyecatching with its dark plum colour freckles against the white.
Hellebore Pretty Ellen Red
An outstanding star of the winter garden, decadent, dark red single blooms appear as early as December and as late as April! A wonderful colour to cut through the sparceness of the winter plants and scenery.
Hellebore Double Black
One to add a bit of 'goth glam' to the garden. Elegant double blooms appear in the darkest plum black, partnered with creamy primrose coloured stamens, a beacon for late visiting pollinators.
Hellebore Single Green Spotted
A bloom that's certain to turn heads! Unusual lime petals, dark red spots and bright yellow stamens burst to life, creating a spectacular show for winter and spring. An excellent choice for container growing or adding colour to dark/shade borders.
Hellebore Anemone Slaty Blue
Delving into an even more unusual bloom! Helleborus Anemone 'Slaty Blue' as the name so aptly describes, showcases cool blue grey flowers with hint of plum tones and daker grey speckles, surrounding a shorter cluster of petals, all completed with a creamy yellow centre. Imagine a container filled with these Hellebores against a selection of ferns, a match made in heaven!
Hellebore Pretty Ellen Pink
Classic and perfectly pink, an excellent choice for container growing or planting in your shade borders. The frost won't get in the way of this variety, hardy down to -20°c and below, plus, the blooms last up to 5 months of the year from January to May!
Hellebore Double Ellen Picotee
Another lovely, layered flower with an attention seeking centre, but this time, the petals have a bold purple trim. This is a simple yet sensational choice and would look fantastic planted with a Double Ellen Red or Orientalis Anemone Red.
Hellebore Single Yellow
Reminiscent of a bright spring or summer's day, this beautiful Hellebore shines with a buttercup yellow to primose flower, winter to spring long. Excellent for shade or borders and even better for visiting pollinators.
Hellebore Anemone White
Elegant, long-lasting blooms offer beauty, resilience, and support early-season pollinators. This variety is celebrated for its distinctive anemone-like flowers that emerge in late winter to early spring, offering a breath of fresh beauty during the colder months. Ruffled petals surround a central crown of bright yellow stamens, creating a layered, intricate appearance. Standing out against the backdrop of dark green
Hellebore Double Ellen Red
To complete our Top 10 Hellebores list, the unforgettable Helleborus 'Double Ellen Red' with its captivating layers of rich, dark velvet petals in red to pink tones, emerge from January. Extremely hardy and a popular choice for shade and part shade borders or containers.
More about Hellebores:
Hellebores actually have an interesting past that I’m sure many of you weren’t aware of. Ancient communities once believed that parts of the plant could be used to treat a number of illnesses including gout, paralysis and even insanity. To everyone’s surprise, it was later discovered that these pretty plants had quite the opposite effect. When ingested, they are toxic to humans and those prescribed such medicines began suffering from vertigo and swelling of the tongue and throat, truly unsettling.
Nowadays, we think it best that we just enjoy their beauty and find our remedies elsewhere. We have a fantastic hellebore growing guide that was written with both beginners and experts in mind. It talks you through soil and light preference, watering and feeding, and much more.
