Perennials: Helleborus - what is it doing?, 1 by hortensia

hortensia wrote:
Neal, I use euphorbia characias ssp wulfenii that way. It forms its flower buds in fall (not October, though) in great tall panicles; which bend over sometime in the early year like goosenecks; then straighten up and flower; holding the (greeny yallery) flower and subsequent seed pods (equally showy) until you get sick of them in may or june.

I love this and euphorbia robbiae; but e characias seeds and robbiae runs like a triple crown winner.

Helleborus viridus has green flowers ("pure and brilliant green" says Graham stuart Thomas) from winter he says, well into summer. alas I have never seen this. I do grow the corsican hellebore; which occasionally -- in the right spot -- starts forming its flowers in late fall. Not in time for mums though.

But I love it, wouldn't be without it.

here is an interesting link -- the pic below is from this; helleborus viridis flower http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/T3066.HTM