Hellebores and conifers are hard to beat for winter wonderlands

  • By Steve Smith Special to The Herald
  • Tuesday, November 10, 2015 2:08pm
  • Life

If you’re looking for a sturdy perennial that will grow in shade or morning sun, look no further than hellebores.

These perennials are tough as nails and rarely need to be divided once they are planted. Mostly disease-free and only occasionally visited by aphids, hellebores are easy to grow and non-demanding. I have several clumps in my garden that were planted many years ago. Other than cutting them back once a year, I don’t do anything special to them, and the big bonus is that they bloom in the fall and winter.

If you don’t have a clue what a hellebore is perhaps the names Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose might sound more familiar. The Christmas Rose and all of the new hybrids start blooming as early as November and continue into the new year. The flowers are mostly white, but newer hybrids are showing shades of pink and some have marbled foliage.

Lenten Roses start blooming around the first of the year and continue into spring with both single and double flowers. They bloom in an array of colors from white to black and everything in between (except maybe blue). They can be picotee, frilled, freckled or just solid colors, and once planted rarely ever need to be divided or transplanted.

For winter interest in the garden or containers, Lenten Roses are unsurpassed for long-lasting blooms and ease of care. Removal of last year’s foliage once a year is all that is required along with, of course, cutting off the blooms once they have finished.

As for conifers, they also make fabulous winter-interest plants. Considering that we live in the Evergreen State it should be no surprise that conifers (plants with needle-like foliage such as pines, firs and junipers) are very well adapted to our climate. I think what gardeners sometimes forget is that conifers come in all sizes and even colors and they can anchor a garden composition together in the dead of winter when all the other vegetation has melted away.

Like hellebores, some conifers are well suited for containers and, when combined with perennials, hardy trailing groundcovers and an evergreen grass for accent, make a very attractive container planting.

Winter gardens do not have to be bare and boring. By combining evergreen perennials, conifers and deciduous plants that have attractive bark or branching patterns we can continue to enjoy our gardens throughout the winter months.

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached online at info@sunnysidenursery.net.

Upcoming classes

Sunnyside Nursery will host a pair of upcoming classes on winter gardening on Nov. 14. At 10 a.m., Sally Isaiou, of Skagit Gardens, will share her expertise in combining hellebores with other winter-interest plants. At 1 p.m., Trevor Cameron will teach a class on conifers.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.