Now, when you look at this pretty double Hellebore, what comes to mind?
I am sure some of you think of ladies’ petticoats, as I do. 😉Hence the title for todays’s vase, as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her weekly meme with vases from around the world.
The winter Viburnum ‘Dawn’ has been opening bit by bit for about a week now, but only two days ago was it warm enough to detect its delicious fragrance. Needless to say I was immediately tempted to cut a piece to bring indoors. Cornus and Forsythia stems and some Pussy willow from last week’s vase joined the Viburnum. And then I made the decision to cut some Hellebores; I always hesitate, as they do not usually last well in a vase. But the ones I picked last week still look amazingly good, so I went for it!
As well as their resemblance to frilly feminine attire, their names all sound very feminine to me: Moondance, Noa, Carlotta and Yellow Lady.
Yellow Lady is the one at the front, with pretty pink freckles. (Is she blushing?)
The double one is called Noa. I bought it from an online nursery some years ago and have not been able to track it down since. I wonder if you have seen or heard of her before?
Next to Noa, on the right, is Moondance. This is a newcomer to the garden so I hope she settles in well. I love the hint of pale pink on the edge of her petals.
And on the left is the beautiful Carlotta, with her peachy pink and golden hues. A proper lady indeed.
At the moment they are standing tall, but I know they may flop at any minute. I have given up all the tricks suggested by friends and fellow bloggers such as searing the stems, as they sometimes work and sometimes don’t. I will just have to enjoy them NOW! Carpe diem and all that!
So, as you can see, I think we can now safely say that spring has arrived. I even saw a couple of butterflies today: some Peacocks and a single Brimstone. I just hope we are not plunged back into winter with icy winds later this month – March came in like a lamb… so it may go out with a lion’s roar!
Whatever the weather, I hope you are enjoying your gardens and wish you all a flowery week. 🦋
Words and Herbs 
Those are very lovely ladies.
Thank you. I agree. 😃
Your vase is lovely as always, Cathy, and the flowers you’ve chosen are spectacular. I’m glad you’re seeing signs of spring. I’ll cross my fingers for continued good weather. We’ve had a weekend of rain but thankfully no heavy wind so the freesia are still upright along with my sunflowers.
You have had quite a bit of rain this winter, haven’t you? Hope the reservoirs are filled up. 😃 It is still rather chilly here, but spring is definitely in the air!
The Hellebores are just gorgeous 💚
Sadly, as predicted, they have all flopped… I need to do some rearranging! LOL!
Oh dear 😦 You’ll have to get an elongated vase so you can look up at them 😉
I have cut their heads off (!) and floated them in a glass bowl. 😁
Good idea! I bet that looks lovely 😊
Very, very pretty Cathy! I’ve never been able to find those pretty and frilly varieties here where I live.
I have to keep my eyes peeled to find them here too. One online nursery here has one or two, but only sometimes!
Delightful❣️
😃 Absolutely!
They are indeed reminiscent of petticoats Cathy especially the frilly double ones. I love the speckles. I’ve not heard of ‘Noa’ before but sadly some some good plants disappear over the years as new varieties are introduced. March came in more like a lion here with a grim cold day of heavy rain and hailstorms thrown in the mix too. Two consecutive dry days since !!! No sightings of bees or butterflies yet but ladybirds spotted both in the house and in the garden 😀
I wonder who coined that phrase about March and if there is any truth in it!
These ladies are all incredibly beautiful.
I think so too. 😃
So beautiful! A lovely spring bouquet, Cathy– worth celebrating!
Thanks Eliza! Sadly they are all hanging their heads today so I will try and revive some.
So many beautiful hellebores like ballerinas dancing in tutus. Or maybe fairies.
Oh yes, tutus is a good description. 😃
They are beautiful, and yes so feminine. I love Carlotta’s coloring! tzgarden.blogspot.com
I think she’s my favourite. 😄
Hellebores are deserving of close examination and you’ve displayed yours beautifully, Cathy. I wanted to include some of my ‘Anna’s Red’ hellebores this week but decided they needed a bit more time to open more fully 😉
And the longer you can wait the better they last in a vase, I find. Mine have unfortunately not lasted this week!
Great contrast of frilly ladies with just-awakening stems. Well done! –HB
Thank you. They have done well this year after all the rain we had.
I see petticoats, definitely, but also a kaleidoscope … or one of those synchronized dances that I used to see on TV in years gone by, that were filmed from above! I love every colour of hellebore you have chosen and adore your vase today. It’s great to see spring has arrived for you!
Oh yes, like those toy kaleidoscopes I had as a child. Good description Joanne!
Yes! My grandchildren actually have one each. When my daughter found them in the shops about a year ago, she bought one for each of the little ones and they love them too. 🙂
Yellow Lady
cjsmissionaryministry@gmail.com
OMG Gorgeous!
Thanks Eunice!
I do not know what petticoats are, so I would not be qualified to compare them to a hellebore. The color looks Victorian though. That Viburnum is one of the deciduous sorts that we do not grow here. They may not perform well here.
Yes, the colour is a kind of ‘vintage’ pink I suppose.
That’s sooo pretty, I hope they lasted a bit longer! Funnily enough just yesterday I was digging up my only two hellebores to relocate them in an attempt to revive them, they are being eaten by something / generally unhealthy and there’s no way they are in a state to appear in a vase! One of mine looks like your Carlotta, beautiful colours!
I love Carlotta best at the moment! Sadly they didn’t last well and look rather forlorn this morning!
Very pretty ladies indeed, Cathy, especially Noa with her fetching chickenpox complexion – and Carlotta with the fine lining around her petals. Your vase looked so beautiful and it is such a shame that maintaining that beauty is so difficult – even though we know they will last better once they have been pollinated and the seedpod begins forming, we know that some of their colouring will have faded by then. In the meantime, the shape of the vase you chose worked perfectly, and the twigs were just right to set them off
They did all flop Cathy, except for Moondance, which was further on anyway as it was only bought recently and had no doubt got a headstart on the others at the garden centre. I have cut the heads off the others and floated them and am still enjoying them nonetheless! 😃
Simply charming – love the blooms!
Thank you! 😃
The colors of the flowers look wonderful with the blue vase. It has an Oriental feel to me with the branches in the background. I have never heard of any of those hellebores! I think they are wonderful by any name.
You are right, even the nameless ones or wrongly labelled ones are pretty!
A great combination of flowers and stems and the vase! Just lovely!
Thank you Beth! 🤗
Following the theme with your “ladies”, I can’t help but see Carlotta’s stamens as very elegant eyelashes. 😉
What a lovely blend of hellebores and the shrub stems. Will you keep the willow and forsythia in vases till they flower?
Oh yes, I definitely see those lashes too! The willow is already opening, but will have to go out soon as the pollen can be so irritating. But the Forsythia will stay indoors and I will probably add a bit more to it as it does look so lovely in a vase. 😃
What a beautiful arrangement, those hellebores are magnificent, New Dawn and the other ‘twigs’ give it a nice height too.
I just love the way you have arranged those delightful hellebores, and the twigs and ‘New Dawn’ give it height.
Thank you Noelle. I actually had to remove a few of the hellebores the next day as the stems flopped. So the flowers are now floating in a glass bowl looking even lovelier. 😃
Lovely ladies indeed, Cathy ☺️ as they hybridise so freely their offspring must be quite amazing. Have you spotted any seedlings yet? Mine seed about and flower very early in life but as I don’t have many fancy varieties the babes are more modest. Picked some H. viridis for the vase but after a day they dropped their heads, pity. Viburnum “Dawn” grew so well in my Swiss garden but sadly hates the summers in the South.
I have had seedlings appear, but none have flowered yet. I wonder if it just gets too dry for the little ones in summer. Would be lovely to have some nice hybrids pop up! I ended up floating most of these as they drooped within a day. I think that is the best way to see them anyway. 😃 Have a wonderful weekend Annette. 😘