In this weeks Monday Flowers I am welcoming January with the first of my hellebores. As ever I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join in with her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase in the house every week of the year. In the early days of this challenge I was reluctant to cut my beautiful hellebores – partly because they always wilted so quickly in the house and partly because I had a limited supply in the garden and did not want to deplete my outdoor display.
Today’s vase was cut and photographed yesterday as I knew I would be very busy today. Over the years of this challenge I have learnt that hellebores are one of the flowers that benefit from having their stems seared in boiling water for about 20 seconds before being placed in a vase. By conditioning them yesterday in this way they are still looking very perky today and hopefully will last a few days more.
Yesterday was a horrible day weather wise. I did manage an hour outside weeding my strawberry bed in the morning, but the afternoon rain was too heavy to continue the job. Instead I placed these flowers in front of the kitchen window to try and find enough light to take some photographs – you can see how wet the window was!!
My challenge this week was to find a new way to display my hellebores. After taking down my festive decorations and in a mood for January simplicity, I dug out my milk bottle vases that have not been used for quite a while. I tend to reserve these for summer use, but they worked perfectly with a row of candles at their base to add a wintery mood, which was enhanced by a few sprigs of ivy.
Whilst I am making the most of these early hellebores there are plenty more to come and I am particularly looking forward to the darker ones that will flower later in the month. Every year I add a few more hellebores to my garden and the ones that were planted when we first moved here 6 years ago are now very substantial plants. As the number of flowers available increases, I am happier to cut stems for the house – which is actually where I enjoy them the most when the weather is so bad outside.
I wil be staying with my hellebores for a few weeks yet – making the most of their simple beauty at this dark point in the year. I have ordered a book about hellebores from Amazon as I would like to learn more about them on these dark January nights and I am planning to take plenty of photographs of them in the garden if the weather allows. I also need to plan this years new additions, so I will have plenty to share with you over the next few weeks. In the meantime do pop over to Cathy’s blog to see what she and the others have made this week – a quick peek revealed that Cathy has a very unusual collection of flowers for January!
Wishing you all a very happy New Year!!
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I have fallen in love with hellebores in the last couple of years. I want more and more of them. Yours are beautiful!
They are such an easy flower to fall in love with and a perfect winter obsession! Thank you for commenting Jeanette.
Good to know about conditioning the hellebores…and I adore these images of them against the wet backdrop….this display is just exquisite Julie.
Thank you Donna – they stayed perky for 3 days – on the fourth I cut the heads off & floated them in water and they are still looking perfect!
Your hellebore display is bright and cheery, Though you may be tired of it I like the rain drops sparkling on the windows. Sunshine here today at long last.
Thank you Susie – I do rather like the rain when I am tucked up inside – I just dislike the endlessly muddy dogs and waterlogged borders. I hope you have enjoyed some lovely winter sunshine this week!
What glorious pictures of your hellebores, Julie – you have captured them so well against the rainy window. Such inspired photographs! Thanks for sharing
Thank you Cathy – I just love photographing hellebores!!
Julie, your hellebores are very beautiful and your photography is truly outstanding! It really shows them in a very different way than you usually see them on blogs and it is almost as if you discover them anew. I love the simplicity of the milk bottle vases!
Here in Southern California, where I garden, it is raining at this very moment as well and since we are in a severe drought for four years now, I am so very thankful for that.
Christina
I am glad to hear that you have rain Christina – I was in California in the summer so I know how bad things are there. Thank you for commenting and I am so pleased that you enjoyed my photography!
I can’t grow them in my garden so I’m glad to see yours 🙂 Oh well, can’t have everything.
I am sure you have plenty of things that I can’t grow Mary – I am pleased I can share my hellebores with you!
The hellebores are beautiful and I love the way you photographed them in front of the rain soaked window. It adds to their already ethereal beauty. I’ll keep in mind your tip for conditioning the flowers should I be lucky enough to get any of mine to bloom – there’s still no rain here to snap the plants into gear.
I will keep my fingers crossed for some rain Kris!
Lovely lovely Julie! The rain in the background makes it even dreamier. So you sear the stems in boiling water? No, I have never heard of that!!! Ok, mine are just about to flower, so I will try this and let you know.
Happy New Year friend!
The seared stems lasted 3 days in perfect condition Libby – on the 4th day the stems were starting to wilt so I cut the flower heads off and floated them in a bowl and they are still looking beautiful. I will look forward to hearing about how yours behave.
Beautiful images of your delicate Hellebores; I love how you photographed them against the rain-spotted window. Good tip about the conditioning in boiling water; I’m very bad about preparing my flowers although I usually sear the end of rose stems in a flame which seals the end and makes them later longer. Have a fabulous 2016. You didn’t mention your knee so I’m hoping it is better.
Thank you Christina – that is a good type about the roses. Thank you also for asking about my knee – I had an MRI scan and have torn the cartilage – it is much better than it was but I will have to have an operation at some point this year to sort it out properly. At least I am able to get on gardening again – I just need the rain to stop now!
Your photographs are lovely Julie, really fresh with the low winter light and even the rain drops adding to the perfection. Your tip about searing the hellebores will be put in use by many of us. I have a couple of clumps, maybe three or four…but no special collection. I’m inspired by your presentation, and hopefully when mine are ready, I shall try for a vase.
Where are mine I am wondering and I’ve just been out to look and there’s no sign. I think they came in March last year so I’ll remain hopeful. Great combination of there delicate colours set against the subtle glass.
Thank you Sue and hopefully yours will appear soon – I have quite a few with buds still at ground level which will flower later – not all varieties flower this early.
Lovely Julie, I hadn’ t thought of picking hellebores, I don’ t know why, they look so pretty in your milk bottles. At last we have some sun today, hoorah! The ground is so wet though. Happy New Year!
Do try picking some hellebores Chloris – they last particularly well if you float them in a bowl and you can really appreciate the lovely flowers like that. `My garden is almost completely waterlogged – at least the woodland area stays relatively dry throughout the winter.
Thanks, Julie. I am waiting for the hellebore buds to open here. And a Happy New Year back at you.
Thank you John – I hope your hellebores are flowering soon.
Quite lovely! I’ve never had much luck with hellebores — we’ll see if mine bloom this year. I’d love to have some beautiful early flowers like yours. Thanks for sharing them! -Beth
Thank you Beth – are you feeding them? I find it really helps to give them a sprinkling of fish, blood & bone in the spring and autumn.
Lovely pictures Julie, hellebores are one of the mainstays of the garden this time of year, I wouldn’t want to be without them.
Thank you Brian – I whole heartedly agree!
Add me to the list of readers who love the window photos! Beautiful.
I’ll be searing a few stems this spring and see how that works. I’m just now getting past the point of having too few blooms, and as long as the winter cooperates I should be able to finally spare several for the house this spring.