Friday, February 25, 2011

Early Bloomers

The hellebores are finally emerging. In a milder winter, they bloom earlier, living up to the name of  Christmas Roses. 

This year we'll have to settle for their other  appellation -- Lenten Roses. But a rose hellebore by any name is a welcome sight.
And the winter jasmine's pale yellow flowers are beginning to twinkle on its bare stems -- brightening even a gray day.
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20 comments:

Victoria said...

Those are beautiful photos, Vicki, especially the last one of the winter jasmine.

What with the raccoons, the temperature extremes, and the changing climate I'm about ready to give up gardening. (But I'll probably feel differently when spring arrives).

Marilyn & Jeff said...

My mother-in-law had a garden of hellebores, she called them winter roses... Christmas is in summer here ;-)

Vicki I would like to thank you so very much for donating a set of your books to the raffle to aid the Red Cross earthquake relief appeal for the people of Christchurch. Your caring generosity reinforces my belief that we truly do live in a beautiful world.

All I can say is thank you.

Martin said...

Winter jasmine, one of my favourites. Such cheery little flowers.

Miss_Yves said...

Lovely pictures
Another French appellation is "l'herbe aux fous"because hellebores are used to treat madness.

Reader Wil said...

It's a sign of hope when the flowers are showing themselves again. They appear year after year, in spite of the harsh weather, as if to encourage us, saying:"see we will not be defeated come and pick up your life again."
Your photos inspire me to such thoughts.Thank you!

Pat in east TN said...

Aaaaah ... wonderful, encouraging pictures that color will soon return.

Brian Miller said...

looking forward to seeing more of that color very soon...

Elora said...

Yes, my mother called them Lenten Roses, too, and she seemed very proud of having grown them. They were among her "special" (as opposed to ordinary) flowers, greatly admired as early risers/ Lovely (encouraging) photos, Vicki!

Elora

Christine said...

Beautiful flowers Vicki; those first early blooms always get me excited. Going to the Smokies in a few weeks can't wait to see what I find there. Really ready for the dogwoods to start blooming.

Louise said...

I planted hellebores last year and am anxious to see if they made it through the winter. There's nothing yet, but it's still brutally cold, so we'll see what develops.

Darla said...

Love the composition and clarity of the hellebore emerging from amongst the dry, dead leaves...beautiful.

Kath said...

Thank you for giving us something precious to look for on this cold gray day.
I love Jasmine. It's the color of hope.

Brenda said...

My large patch of hellebores have grown happily under a huge pine tree for many, many years but now are sitting out in full sun. The grand old tree came down last fall. I wasn't sure if the hellebores would bloom or not, but they're out in all their glory. I'm going to have to find them a new shady spot and launch a major transplant effort before the hot weather arrives.

Now that winter jasmine. I've been seeing "forsythia" blooming all over my neighborhood, profusely flowering stalks of bright yellow. But now I'm thinking it must be winter jasmine. How can you tell the difference?

Vicki Lane said...

I knew that hellebore had medicinal uses but I didn't know its French name -- thank you, Miss Yves!

I used to make that same mistake, Brenda, till I bought a winter jasmine and realized that it was WJ trailing down banks, not forsythia. Forsythia shoots up like a fountain (if left untrimmed) while winter jasmine tends to trail. It may have an occasional upright shoot but soon that shoot will lie over.

Unknown said...

Beautiful hellebores.. I always wish they would lift their heads a lkittle higher.
Vicki.. thank you for the wonderful donation of your books. I went all goosebumps tp think you would do that! Kia ora my friend!!

Friko said...

My winter jasmine is already coming to its end. I am getting rather tired of the long, untidy strands; I think it's time for the chop.

Jean Baardsen said...

Lovely! So nice to see the first signs of spring.

Vagabonde said...

I just finished the 30 posts your wrote while I was gone. I won’t comment on each and bother you with long paragraphs. I enjoyed them all and your photos kept me in awe. The farm is so lovely under different lights and weather. Your flowers are pretty too. I was a bit disoriented while in Hawaii with all the flowers in full bloom – I felt like I had been in a time machine and was transported to summer already.

tattytiara said...

I've never heard of hellabores, but I love their colors - the dusty pinks next to the bright green. What a wonderful sight to look forward to in the spring!

Brenda said...

Okay, based on that description, I know which of the bright yellow blooms in the neighborhood must be "winter jasmine." The first time I saw this one house with profuse forsythia growing flat and horizontally in the ditch bordering the street, I thought it was the strangest thing. Mutant forsythia maybe. Now I realize it was winter jasmine. It looks so similar though -surely the two must be related. I'll have to follow up and do some research!