The Lenten Rose Shows Up On Time

My favorite perennial flower is the Hellebore, or Lenten Rose, a late winter bloomer that is a member of the Buttercup family. This morning I started cleaning up one of the 3 planting beds in my back and front yards that become more crowded with Hellebores every year. Not that I mind them spreading their seeds, as long as they stay roughly in the same area. 

Nurseries say they do well in shade (check) but leaves can become dry and tattered over the winter if not covered by snow (check--no snow this year in Delaware).  So it's these ratty looking leaves which I have been trimming. The reward is that the blooms are hiding under the ugly stuff along with fallen oak leaves which I grab out by the handfuls. 

Not that I would try this, but apparently the roots are "strongly emetic and potentially fatal," according to Google. They are also "deer resistant," but the deer don't seem to like my block, so not a worry at this point. 

And, in case you were wondering, unlike Leap Year Day, they bloom EVERY year!