Heads Down

I needed something different for my hellebores photos this year, so I went for a different angle: cloeups.

I always wanted this shy flower with its heads hung low. A few years back, I finally got the chance when some hellebores came up at a Master Gardener plant swap. I swooped up the container and asked the owner what type or color they were. She didn't remember. I didn't care - I got one.

But, I got two. What bloomed were two colors. I kept intending to separate them, but the lazy gardener that I am, never got around to it. They really need dividing this year, so maybe this is the year. What no one told me about this shade plant - it reseeds a lot and sires a lot of offspring. I find myself ripping out seedlings are the end of summer.

I hope to get a different color some year, and one of the later cultivars where the flowers are more upward facing. But I entertain the neighbors as they watch me photograph these lying on my back.