In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement using materials collected from our gardens.
Trying to beat the rain I entered the garden yesterday morning to scout for flowers for today’s vase and immediately was rewarded with the sight of a bright yellow crocus.
Crocus Species (Snow Crocus Mixture)
The crocus was left safely in place as hellebores were already my pick of the week.
Hellebores were blooming last winter by January 7, 2017. This year the first one opened February 6, 2018—a full month later.
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
The winter has been much colder for longer periods of time so imagine my surprise it was seventy degrees F. by 10 a.m. With gray skies threatening I took advantage of the mild weather to trim away old leaves from the hellebores and clean up around some daffodils. Long way to go but finally I took that first step toward getting the garden ready for spring. Daffodils were flowering last year at least by February 8, but this year they are timid.
Narcissus ‘King Alfred’ (trumpet daffodil)
Back to the matter at hand, for the vase I cut all three hellebores that were open.
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Husker Red Penstemon foliage hearts (think celery hearts) anchor the design and reflect the red hue of the hellebores. Other supporting material, recycled from an arrangement from a few weeks ago, are Beefsteak Begonia heart-shaped leaves and a pine branch.
In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores
Materials
Flowers
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Foliage
Begonia ‘Erythrophylla’ (Beefsteak Begonia)
Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Beardtongue)
Pine branch
Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Ikebana Blue Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H inches)
The overhead views were interesting.
In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores
In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores
Nearly as soon as I finished photographing the vase I knocked one of the flowers out, breaking the stem, so I decided to float it in a red flute. Beneath the glass is a poppy-themed placemat that just happened to be on the table. I love the way this image turned out.
In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower designs across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
your arrangements are looking more and more self-assured Susie. I wouldn’t have imagined the Hellebores working so well in this kind of arrangement. A shame one stem broke but it looks just as good floating and I’m sure they’ll be another Hellebore opening soon to replace it.
I don’t expect these hellebores to last very well as I didn’t take time to condition them. There are many waiting in the wings to bloom and with the warmer weather I think I’ll be able to pick some replacements. We’ve had rain, rain and more rain recently so after a long dry summer and fall, now the garden is completely saturated.
The hellebores look lovely standing straight and proud like this although as we all know they sadly won’t last long like this – but what a brilliant impromptu picture the floating flower head made. The penstemon leaves seem such an unusual shape and colour and play a great supporting role along with the begonia foliage. Thanks for sharing these delights today, Susie
Thanks Cathy. That hellebore on the left looks rather sassy I think. Husker Red is the first penstemon I successfully grew and the red leaves stood out when I was searching for vase materials.
How lovely your garden is waking and flowers continue to bloom….and you can work in the garden. I love Huskers Red foliage and especially in a vase so this was a perfect addition to those amazing hellebore blooms. I am looking forward to seeing my hellebores blooming in about 2 months…they are perfect whether in vases or floating. I especially love them in your Ikebana dish and the way they curve on the stem…a work of art!
Thanks Donna. I’m so excited to see the garden perking up a little. I was negligent to its needs last year and hope to spend a lot more time fixing it up this spring.
One word – stunning. 🙂
Thank you Judy!
What an elegant and stylish way to display hellebores!
Thanks Peter.
It is so elegant, what a pity that hellebores won’t stand up in a vase for long. The penstemon foliage is a gorgeous colour.
Thank you. I don’t usually fret over how long the arrangements last (unless I bought flowers), especially heading toward spring. I think I like creating the vases–it’s like a meditation and the lasting effect comes from that.
Many plants are off-schedule here too, in our case presumably due to the ridiculously warm temperatures. My ornamental pear tree is blooming now, even though it never dropped the majority of last year’s leaves.
Your vases are beautiful! You did a great job showing off the hellebores pretty faces. I love hellebores and have been disappointed that I’ve had just 3 stray blooms from mine this year. Best wishes for a happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Kris. That must seem weird for the pear to not shed its leaves. We’re back into low forties today but I sense a shift. Hope it doesn’t get too warm here too fast. I’m way behind on cleanup in the garden (by about a year). Having big regrets about not getting to see you in Austin!
The Hellebores may be fleeting displayed this way but that almost makes me love it more.
Hope my comment went through this morning. Got a fatal error message. In my programming days I’d have had to debug that! I agree about the fleeting nature of the hellebores. Usually I just enjoy creating Monday vases and treat the experience as the reward.
Your hellebores are gorgeous Susie, and in the first image the tall one looks so perky and ready to welcome spring! Love that last shot with the red glass. 🙂
I liked that red glass picture too. Sad to report that tall hellebore lost her perky attitude fairly quickly but I am happy to see these flowers opening outdoors at last.
Yes, it is a shame the don’t last long once cut. I shall no doubt float some again this year and they last a bit longer then. 🙂
Isn’t it good to get out again and get started on those jobs? Your crocus is very cheerful and the hellebores are lovely delicate colours.
Yes, it does feel good to get out. Now I have to follow through!
I especially love the pine needles that set the lovely hellebores off to fine advantage.
Thanks, the pine needles are from another arrangement a few weeks back. I tried to use them last week but they didn’t contribute to the design, so tried them again this week.
Elegant arrangement and the floating blossom is a nice complement. Lenten roses just in time for Lent! Interesting the difference in bloom times, a month is a big difference.
Perhaps the Lenten roses are blooming this year at a more appropriate time, but yes, it’s been a much colder winter than we’ve had in a while.
Interesting to read about the later timings. Certainly I’ve had enough of winter now. Love hellebores and good arrangement
Thanks. One benefit of writing a blog is being able to check dates for bloom times. I have a feeling spring will rush in soon.
Yes I expect so. Waiting is trying though
I like that last image,too. All the photos are beautiful, the addition of the pine an begonia sets off the Hellebores perfectly.
Thanks. The floating hellebore is the only one that lasted the day.
My orchid tree flowers did the same thing.
Nicely done. Hellebores can be challenging because of how they tend to look downwards.
Thanks Jason. Yes, and sadly these hellebores were pretty unhappy in the vase. I’ll try a few more and condition them properly before adding them.
I always love your arrangements Susie. Hellebores are difficult to view in the garden, your arrangement shows them of beautifully.
Thank you Brian for your kind message.
Hellebores are not my favorite flower, but it seems that those who grow them put them to good use.