Helleborus xnigercors 'Honey Hill Joy' & Helleborus x hybridus 'Wedding Crasher' 16 January 2025

It would seem that hellebores have not inspired poets to write about them. I found very few. The hellebore was one of Rosemary’s favourite plants. She was not a spring/summer kind of gardener. She liked to have plants that bloomed in the winter,too. In my now garden that used to be our garden I have three hellebores. Two were in bloom today so I scanned them. They look delicate but I would define them as cast iron perennials.

I did find a poem by Albert Camus that to me is about the hellebore.

In the midst of hate,

I found there was, within me,

an invincible love.

In the midst of tears,

I found there was, within me,

an invincible smile.

In the midst of chaos,

I found there was, within me,

an invincible calm.

I realized, through it all,

that in the midst of winter,

I found there was, within me,

an invincible summer.

And that makes me happy.

For it says that no matter how hard

the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.