Tuesday, February 5

When does Lent come before Christmas?

Answer:

When you grow hellebores. Although both our Christmas and Lenten roses are flowering at the moment, the Lenten roses (hellebore orientalis) started to produce flowers at the beginning of January.

The Christmas roses (hellebore niger)have just opened their first flowers now at the beginning of February

Christmas was well over a month ago and this year Lent begins on 13 February  and what is more neither plant is remotely related to a rose. Who names these plants?

Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett

24 comments:

  1. Christmas roses must have overslept :)
    I think these pink hellebores look gorgeous! I haven't got hellebores in my garden yet, but I'm going to buy some, they look really beautiful!

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    1. They are good plants to have for early interest Dewberry.

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  2. Plant names rarely make sense to me. What lovely photos though. Very cheerful.

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    1. It's surprising how many plant names include the word rose too Kelli

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  3. Lovely colours. I like the one in the top left hand corner of the collage.

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    1. There are still some to open, Jo so should be more colours although most are pink or creany

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  4. Haha! This is a very good observation! I love hellebores but the white ones can look really mucky if that makes sense. Yours are looking great though. I guess it's nice to see them whenever they choose to appear : )

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    1. I does make sense Anna - they soon spoil

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  5. You're well ahead of us in growth, Sue. That's usually the case though, we've had buds but the cold and second wave of snow have sent them back to sleep again. Love the orientalis ones - you've just reminded me I finally planted a small (previously in a pot) Christmas one and I should check it out for signs of buds. Hope you don't get a cold snap/heavy snow tomorrow and it flattens these beauties.

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    1. We had a sprinkling of snow yesterday morning, Shirl, not much and it didn't hang around. The hellebores were covered in snow earlier though when they were in flower and have bounced back.

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  6. One or two of mine are flowering but they seem very low to the ground this year, hiding from the awful weather I guess.

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  7. They are beautiful flowers. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. In a fit of paranoia I pulled out all my hellebores worried that my kids would eat them as toddlers. i miss them though.

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    1. I guess it's better safe than sorry Liz.

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  9. Thanks for this Sue, by the difference in petals I'm guessing my unnamed hellebores which are flowering their hearts out are Hellebore orientalis :}

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    1. Orientalis also taller than niger, Bilbo. There are some double ones in the photos and there are different colours too, some almost black and others with speckled centres.

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  10. They look lovely! but as you said , i think they name does not suites them! hahahhaaa.....

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  11. Same thing happened in my garden, although I only got one Christmas rose and now the hellebores are still popping up!

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  12. Loved this post...I agree with the naming things....So many names seem to be strangely bizarre!!!!

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    1. I always wondered about Hellebore Niger but apparently the name is because of the blackish stems. Odd. Not sure why dog rose?

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