I guess we can’t complain too much, it has been a fairly mild winter. Regardless, I am sure getting itchy for a little spring color!

Meet the hellebore! Also known as Lenten or Christmas rose, these beauties are one of the very first to come up in perennial gardens, and with a mild winter like this, their foliage can even remain evergreen. Leaves are a leathery dark green and the blossoms themselves are also quite tough. So even though they bloom early, the blooms tend to be pretty long lasting.

They come in a lovely range of colors, white, green and yellow, all hues of pink and red, bicolor, speckled and my personal favorite, black. What can I say? I’m a florist and I love black and brown flowers! For an avid gardener, collecting different species can become an addiction. The varieties vary in size, some healthy plants can form a very substantial shrub-like plant.

In writing this, I am realizing I have yet to check on my glorious black plant! And while the color isn’t exactly what one might call “springy”, seeing that plant start to bloom is a wonderful sign that winter is on it’s way out!