Hellebores are all excellent garden plants, ranging from the small Christmas rose (H. niger) up to some substantial herbaceous perennials, and flowering from mid winter (a highly prized virtue) through spring. Even after the flowers are over, many of them have persistent lime green calyces, which will happily pass for flowers. The tough, leathery leaves persist all year, but it is a good idea to cut them back just before the new ones emerge, so that their beauty can be enjoyed without distraction. Add humus to the soil in autumn.

Helleborus x hybridus has a variety of flower colours from white to cream to mottled pinks. Foliage is evergreen unless there is a long, very cold spell. Likes to be in a sheltered position and soil needs to be kept moist in summer.