From the Greek helein, to kill, bora, food; some species are poisonous (Ranunculaceae). Hellebore. Hardy perennials, often retaining their leaves through the winter, with thick fibrous roots. All flower early in the year and the flowers are long lasting. Most of them have handsome, leathery, divided leaves, sometimes spiny. They are natives of southern Europe and western Asia. Species cultivated […]
Digitalis – Foxglove, Perennials Guide to Planting Flowers
Digitalis – Foxglove, Witches’ Thimbles A well grown Foxglove in full flower is a plant of dignity and beauty. The long flowering spikes grow from 3 to 6 feet tall, rising high above large clumps of broad, downy leaves. Upon the flowering stalk, the flowers open slowly as the impulse to bloom moves upward. This tends to lengthen the blooming […]
THE STINKING HELLEBORE – Gardening
My mother, a woman for whom good taste meant a great deal, would not have approved of Sarah, our gray half-grown kitten. Sarah, for whom happiness and flatulence seem inextricably linked, is not always fit for polite company. Fortunately she loves to go out into the garden. Mother would also have looked askance at another denizen of my beds, the […]