A Hellebore Garden

We took a few days to visit family and friends in Georgia. 

Blooming in gardens along the way were star magnolias and camellias. In the northeast corner of Georgia in the higher elevations around Dillard,  wild rhododendrons were everywhere budded and ready to bloom. Just seeing them makes me want to go back when they bloom sometime in May I was told. Oh, there is a place called Dillard House where the restaurant has no menu but serves you all you can eat of everything they have for the day including two or three meats, rolls and cornbread, lots of vegetables, and desert. You will have to take some home with you because it is impossible to eat it all.

This large camellia has a beautiful color similar to Kramer's Supreme and a big boss of anthers.

My sister-in-law's garden in Atlanta is filled with hellebores which means there is a host of flowers for several months of the year. They are quite happy growing around a blue stone patio and paths on a red clay hill with mature deciduous trees overhead. The hellebores in my garden are due to her generosity.

As the season progresses the hellebores are interspersed with seasonal delights: pansy, hosta, hydrangea, spirea, annuals, etc.

You don't often see snow drops/galanthus in the south but you do see snow flakes/Leucojum aestivum with their little bells of white dotted with green. There is a hybrid with larger blooms called 'Gravetye'.

Carolina jessamine/Gelsemium sempervirens beautifies the utility area.

A bathtub and bed frame add a touch of whimsey to Betty Jane's garden.

She uses lots of solor lighting to highlight the garden at night.

Narcissus 'Ice Follies'

When we returned home Narcissus  'Ice Follies' and 'Thalia' were blooming. Also blinding red tulips were blooming...what few the squirrels didn't eat.

Tulipa fosteriana 'Red Emperor'

I always bring home plant souvenirs. This time it was blue-eyed daisies/Osteospermum.