It's deep mid-winter and many gardeners are tucked inside out of the cold. For those who venture out there are treasures waiting in the garden.

Winter flowers - they are special and very beautiful, none more so than the hellebores. These are the darlings of the winter garden, and their fans soon become addicted to their subtle charms.

The genus Helleborus includes some of the most fascinating, and quietly beautiful of plants. The flowers, mostly actually sepals, cheer the garden in winter and the beautiful leaves, often deeply cut, will add great foliage contrast and interest throughout the year.

Hellebores require little care. They will grow in any reasonable garden soil, preferring those that are slightly alkaline to an acid soil, and are long-lived.

Ensure that you prepare a good planting site by incorporating compost into the soil before you plant, as hellebores enjoy a moist soil rather than one that dries out quickly. Farmyard manures are good if they are well rotted.

Plant in large planting holes, at least 40-45 cm in diameter and 15-29cm deep. Ensure that the plants are planted at the right depth (Rice & Strangman* recommend 2.5cm of soil above the point where the roots break from the crown of the plant).

Removing the previous years leaves on H. orientalis hybrids in winter will allow you to see you plants more easily, and the old leaves are generally weather-battered and unsightly anyway.

Fresh new leaves will emerge to set off the lovely flowers. This can seem a lot of work, pedantic and fussy but is truly worth it if you can manage.

Most hellebores are hardy in winter conditions (H. lividus should be treated as somewhat tender).

Hellebores in the north and warm areas are prone to fungal attack. A dressing of dolomite lime in December helps to prevent this.

New growth can suffer from aphids. Check on the flowers and under leaves as these appear. Squashing these with your fingers is the best defence, and leave the rest to natural predators.

Seed
Hellebores are a promiscuous lot and if you grow different hellebores close together you will find seedlings of mixed parentage. Propagation is easy from seed.

Collecting Seed
H. orientalis seed forms during the summer, and will germinate by mid-winter.
Collect the seed before it falls, taking care to store it in a cool, dry place.

Sowing Seed
Sow when ripe, in January or February. Use a good seed raising mix and add additional grit.

Water regularly from below to keep the soil moist. If you drench the pots the seeds will rot before they can germinate. All seeds should germinate before June/July, although H. niger will take longer.

Seedlings will flower after one to two years.