Black Hellebore

Day 116: Friends who have known me for any length of time know that I have a passion for "black" flowering plants, i.e., black tulips, black pansies, black iris, etc. None of these is actually pitch-black, black as night, black as a London coal-hole, but rather some shade of purple, and some darker than others. "Black" hellebore is one of the lighter ones, but you can't deny that it is strikingly sumptuous, especially since it frequently holds its blooms over a blanket of snow. Also known as "Lenten Rose," it flowers in late winter and early spring. Its leaves are dark green and palmate, their edges serrated, and at least on my plant, the flowers arise from the center of the clustered stems. This year, mine is particularly lush, but the stalks which bear them are fairly short. Fortunately, one of them had turned its face upward to display the center detail.