What’s your POISON?
Every part of them is toxic, but despite their murderous past, hellebores bring colour and cheer to your flowerbeds. So...
HELLEBORES are guaranteed to cheer up gardens in winter, but these much loved plants have a deeply sinister past. All parts of the perennial are toxic, and long before they graced our beds and borders, hellebores provided a noxious substance that was used by ancient assassins and soldiers to poison arrow heads.
Even more disturbing was their use as a chemical weapon in ancient Greece. Back in 585 BC, an army attacking the fortified city of Kirrha decided to bring a long siege to an end by poisoning the city’s water supply. The defenders were left so weak with sickness that the city fell, and everyone inside was slaughtered.
On a less deadly note, hellebores are cracking garden plants. In these more civilised times they are generally grown for their blooms in shades of white, yellow, green, pink, red, purple, grey and
Used by ancient assassins and soldiers on arrow heads
near black. Some have petals (technically sepals) adorned with contrasting markings or flushed with another shade. The single, semidouble and fully double blooms come in cup, saucer and bell shapes and appear above a cluster of leathery leaves between January and April, depending on variety.
A member of the buttercup family (ranunculaceae), hellebores are native to a vast swathe of land, from Europe to West Asia. Two are indigenous to our shores, including the unfortunately named stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), whose nodding green flowers are held above clumps of deeply divided foliage.
Wild plants are steeped in folklore. In medieval times they were burnt to protect homes from evil, and during the Roman era anyone wanting to dig up a hellebore had to draw a circle around it with a sword, face east and ask the gods for approval. Not doing this would result in an eagle appearing, followed by imminent death. Back in the garden, few hellebores have the impact of the ‘Ashwood Garden hybrids’, a range created by Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands. ‘Harvington Hybrids’ produce flowers from December to March, while the ‘Rodney Davey Marbled Group’ display blooms against silver-veined foliage.
Hellebores are happy in most moisture-retentive soils apart from those that are very acidic, and will flower best when placed in a slightly shaded spot under trees and shrubs. Get them off to a flying start by improving soil before planting by working in plenty of leafmould, garden compost or sterilised mushroom compost.
Hellebores are ideal for growing under dogwoods, viburnums, Japanese maples, Himalayan birches and Tibetan cherry trees, and make perfect partners for winter-flowering bulbs, ferns and evergreen grasses. Set those with downwardfacing flowers on banks to enable you to look directly into them.
Another option is to raise plants in pots filled with soil-based compost. Water plants regularly, especially during hot spells, and feed with a high-potash fertiliser in late summer to encourage flower buds. These perennials can be vulnerable to a fungal disease known as hellebore leaf spot. Prevent the spread of this by cutting off any leaves dotted with roundish brown patches.
Due to all parts of the plant being toxic, treat hellebores with care. Ensure children don’t handle plants, and either wear gloves when planting or pruning, or wash your hands well once you’ve finished.