Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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.





14 comments:

  1. Wow! Look at all those hellebores! I am impressed. Looks like she is a wonderful gardener. Must be nice to share a passion. Love the star magnolia, too. And you came back to blooms! The perfect ending.

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  2. What a lovely garden. Love that patio. My Thalia isn't blooming yet??? ;hmmmmm wonder if I dug up one to bring with me to SC? I am pretty sure I did. Time will tell.

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  3. Oh, make me jealous would you? LOL. If you could have any more blooming.... just beautiful. I might be moving. SNOW today keeps coming down. All the little shoots are wishing they stayed down under.

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  4. Yes, HolleyGarden,
    Everything was beautiful when we return home.

    Janet,
    I moved practically my whole garden when we moved here.

    I'm wishing spring your way, GWGT..

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  5. I really enjoyed this post. Your sister-in-law has a beautiful patio and garden. Lucky you she shares her plants with you! I do love hellebores for the months of lovely blooms they deliver.

    Thanks for visiting and commenting on my own blog!

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  6. You are welcome anytime, Deb. I'll be glad when my garden is as lovely as yours.

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  7. Her garden is lovely...and I adore Hellebores. They have really taken off there and found their home to be welcoming! I love the snowflakes...I'd forgotten about those! How nice to see your daffodils when you returned home. I want some of those white ones. (Need to make a list)! Those squrrels do delight in our tulips, don't they? I am just waiting to see how long mine will last...The green is up through the ground but often they wait until the bud forms and take that. Nice of them to leave you a couple;-)

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  9. Glad you stopped by, Jan. I have a nice clump of tulips that were planted soon after we moved here six years ago. The thing is, I planted hundreds.:(
    The surviving ones are next to narcissus (poisonous). I have read surrounding tulips with narcissus discourages the squirrels. I'm going to plant more in this fashion.

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  10. I don't think I've ever seen so many hellebores in a garden before. I love how they look under the trees.

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  11. The hellebores are in the perfect conditions to reproduce and flourish. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  12. Hi Donna, It's great to hear from you. How are you???? We are getting ready to go on our Arkansas trip to the Mt. Nebo... Yeah!!!!

    Sounds like you were in one of our favorite areas of North GA. We love Dillard and the Dillard House. We usually go home with meals for about 3 days... ha.... Did you go to Tallulah Gorge (near Clayton)??? Fabulous place!!!!!!

    The Atlanta home has a fabulous garden. Bet you went home with lots of new cuttings and ideas!!!!!

    Take care.. (How's the grandbaby?)
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  13. I see you are off and running to beautiful places again. Have fun. Glad you stopped by. I just finished planting a lot of hellebores from BJ's garden and watching them be rained in nicely. I'm always happy with the rain if I have just planted something.

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  14. It's wonderful to visit a garden filled with blooms that are impossible to grow in our part of the country, and what incredible hellebores. Here am I excited to have one grow and flower this year. What a wonderful visit you had and to come home with cuttings too.

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