One of those raw and chilly winter days at the Arboretum, so I didn’t linger in the gardens today. Nevertheless, flowers were to be found: a small clump of Galanthus (Snowdrops) and the Edgeworthia chrysantha shrub (Paper Bush) are blooming next to the kitchen door to the Hagerty Education Center. Not to be missed is an absolutely stunning, deep pink, speckled Hellebore flower (Lenten Rose) blooming in the steep bed in front of Matilda’s Cottage.
An interesting bit of mythology associated with Hellebores: The mythological physician Melampus was said to have observed the cathartic effect of Hellebore on goats who browsed the plants. Melampus used the milk of these same goats to cure the daughters of the King of Argos of a divinely inflicted madness, hence Hellebores are sometimes called melampodium.
Picture credits: Margery Ennist.
