I can't pretend this is any way a decent picture - the wind was blowing and there was a lot of glare - but I put it up as proof that our Hellebores (Helleborus × hybridus) or lenten roses are blooming now.
We have a mass planting of hellebores in our shade garden, courtesy of my husband who grew several dozen from seed a few years ago. Normally, they bloom in April, but as there are few signs of winter here in the Great White North (southern Ontario, Canada), they've been tricked into early budding and flowering.
Let's hope they reserve some flowering for spring. Also putting on a bit of bloom are a few small Euphorbia polychroma.
Where are the snows of yesteryear? Bring 'em on, please!
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I'm enjoying visiting your blog. It is unseasonal in my part of Ontario too.
ReplyDeleteCrafty Gardener
http://craftygardener.blogspot.com/
I live much further south, South Carolina, and I was thinking our weather was strangely warmer this year! I work at park seed/wayside gardens, so I am supposed to know these things, but I didn't realize that any part of Canada was in zone 5, but now that I look at my map I see I was mistaken. Thanks for the interesting post. Our culture notes say that lenten roses bloom from early winter to eary spring, but it still seems amazing in the colder zones.
ReplyDeleteHi tgentry: Thanks for writing. I think it just goes to show how unseasonably mild it has been here for most of December. The mild temperatures look like they should hold well into January. I just took a look at our 14-day weather projections and the temps should hover above or just around freezing for almost two more weeks. This weekend's daytime highs are predicted to be 7 or 8 degrees C, about 44 to 45 degrees F.
ReplyDeleteI really would like some snow!
Cheers, Yvonne
snow? Haven't seen any here in two years.
ReplyDeleteFor more info on Hellebores - www.sunfarm.com
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