Helleborus Orientalis

I have a couple of hellebores that we've managed to keep alive.   They like to grow where the dog likes to sleep on nice winter days - under the trees in the deep leaf mulch we put there.  I think the dog has helped kill a few. 

The chickens love that leaf mulch, too, which probably accounts for the hellebore casualties that the dog isn't responsible for.

At any rate, this one bloomed beautifully a few weeks ago. It's the Lenten Rose. A red variety.  It's worth the wait every year. 

Hellebore

We plant a new hellebore every few years.   They like lots of leaf mulch under the trees and when they're really happy, they spread and spread.   Ours aren't really so happy.  We cover them with yard leaves in the winter and the chickens scratch them up and the dog sleeps in the leaves on top of the hellebores.   

Some of them are tough enough to survive though.  This is Helleborus niger.   We got this one a couple of years ago and it bloomed as soon as the weather warmed up.  

I think that if we can ever keep the chickens off this part of the garden, we could probably get a nice stand of these going.