Helleborus foetidus

Photos above taken in January 2018

 

Photos above taken in March 2018.  All photos are from my garden.

Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) has worked exceptionally well in my dry, lightly shaded garden in Seattle.  There is moderate to fairly steep slope, so the plants are never in standing water.  A 50-foot tall Fraxinus oregana (Oregon Ash) extends sparse branches, 20 feet above ground level, over the area.  My 15 hellebores, scattered randomly, make quite a show from January through March.  The foliage is attractive all year.  The plant is called the stinking hellebore, because of the odor of its crushed leaves.  I've never noticed the odor.  It's a needlessly off-putting name.  I took seedlings no more than 5 inches tall from another garden where they were plentiful.  Those seedlings grew to their mature height (2 to 3 feet) within 3 years.  The plants continue to expand laterally as the number of stalks increase.  This is a long-lived perennial.  The stalks die after blooming & setting seed.  New stalks grow to replace them & bloom the next year.  The green or chartreuse flowers are attractive to insects, especially bees.  The leaves are dark green, but leaves, stalks & flowers are sometimes tinted red. The Wester Flisk Group of Helleborus foetidus is reliably reddish.  I suppose that my plants may be descendants of that group.  Helleborus foetidus is native to the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe, Greece & Turkey.

Witt Winter Garden

Witt Winter Garden February 2013 

Stachyurus praecox at the Witt Winter Garden February 2013

Daphne bohlua 'Jacqueline Postill' at the Witt Winter Garden February 2013 

Cyclamen coum at the Witt Winter Garden February 2013

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena' at the Witt Winter Garden February 2013

The Witt Winter Garden is located at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle, a short walk from the the Graham Visitors Center.  It can also be reached by crossing the Wilcox Footbridge over Lake Washington Boulevard E from the end of E Lynn Street in the Montlake neighborhood.  This is my favorite approach to one of the gardens I love best.  The Witt Winter Garden features a central lawn surrounded by large native conifers & an assortment of smaller trees, shrubs & perennials with winter interest. Many of the flowers are fragrant. The best time for flowers is late January & early February when the Hamamelis (witch-hazel) are in bloom.  The air can be filled with their fragrance on a warm & sunny winter day. I love this odor more than any other. The fragrance of Sarcococca (sweet box) is also pleasing & pervasive. Acer griseum (paper-bark maple) Betula albo-sinensis (Chinese red birch) Camellia, Cornus stolonifera (red-twig dogwood) Corylus (hazel) Corylopsis (winter-hazel) Cyclamen, Daphne, Helleborus, Garrya issaquahensis (silk-tassel) Mahonia, Rhododendron & Salix (willow) stand out among many other plants.  One thing I dislike about the garden is the lawn.  It is soggy & muddy in the winter.  Don't walk on it. There are plenty of paths around it & between the various beds. The winter garden was originally designed & planted in 1949. It was redesigned & named for Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden in 1987, then renovated in 2010. The renovation added Acer tegmentosum ‘Joe Witt’ (Manchurian snake-bark maple).

Wilcox Footbridge at the Washington Park Arboretum February 2013

March in Seattle

Chaenomeles (Quince) in Columbia City

 Hyacinthus (Hyacinth) in Rainier Vista

Narcissus 'Beersheba' (Daffodil) in Rainier Vista

 Ranunculus (Buttercup) in Columbia City

 
Ribes sanguineum (Flowering Currant) in Columbia City

March 2014 in Seattle was warmer & very much rainier than normal.  In fact, a record was set for rainfall in March at 9.44 inches/239.78mm.  The previous record had stood at 8.40 inches/213.36mm since 1950.  Normal rainfall is 3.72 inches/94.49mm.  The mean temperature was 48.5F/9.17C.  The normal mean temperature is 46.5F/8.06C.  The highest temperature was 66F/18.89C on 3/24, the lowest was 34F/1.11C on 3/22.  15 days had highs over 55F/12.78C.  There were 2 days with heavy rain, 10 days with rain, 21 days with light rain, a trace of snow on 3/1, 20 days with fog, 16 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  In spite of all the rain, there were periods with sun & 16 days with very little or no rain.  

February in Seattle

The Dexter Horton Building opened in 1924 on 2nd Avenue in Downtown Seattle.  Like many buildings of this period, it is clad in white terracotta tile.

Helleborus niger 'Ivory Prince' in the Ell Alley Garden.

Helleborus x hybridus in the Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park.

2

Euphorbia characias in the Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park.  All photos were taken in February 2014.

February 2014 in Seattle was colder & significantly wetter than normal.  The mean temperature was 41.7F/5.39C.  The normal mean temperture is 43.4F/6.33C.  Total precipitation was 6.11 inches/155.19mm.  Normal precipitation is 3.5 inches/88.9mm.  There was 2.9 inches/73.66mm of snow.  Average snowfall is 1.7 inches/43.18mm.  The highest temperature was 58F/14.44C on 2/28, the lowest 21F/-6.11C on 2/06.  There were 18 days with light rain, 2 days with snow, 4 days with light snow, 19 days with fog (2 with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 6 cloudy days, 21 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  This was quite a turnabout after 4 months of unusually low rainfall.  On 2/18 the Seattle Times reported that the mountain snowpack, which at the end of January was about 50% of normal for that time of year, had increased to about 80%, relieving fears of a summer water shortage.  February 2014 was cold, wet, dark & dreary.

January in Seattle

The Smith Tower, a Seattle landmark completed in 1914.  It was the tallest building in Seattle until 1962, when the Space Needle was completed.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) blooming in the Waterfall Garden.

The Pioneer Building, completed in 1892 & designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.  All photos were taken in Pioneer Square on 1/15/14.  Some of Seattle's oldest buildings are here.  They date back to 1889, when a fire destroyed the wooden buildings that came before.  This was the original downtown Seattle.

January 2014 in Seattle was warmer & drier than usual.  The mean temperature was 44.3F/6.83C.  The normal mean temperature is 42F/5.56C.  The highest temperature was 58F/14.44C on 1/11, the lowest 31F/-0.56C on 1/5 & 1/6.  Total precipitation was 3.7 inches/93.9mm.  Normal precipitation is 5.57 inches/141.48mm.  This was the 4th month with significantly lower rainfall.  The Seattle Times published an article about the potential shortage in the municipal water supply, if this weather pattern persists.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 9 days with rain, 15 days with light rain, 28 days with fog (17 with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 22 cloudy days,  8 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  My mother said she had never seen so much fog.  I liked the fog.  But this January seemed very dark with so many cloudy days.

March in Seattle

Narcissus on Beacon Hill in March 2013

 Madison Park in March 2013

Prunus serrulata (flowering cherry) in Mt Baker in March 2013

Rainier Valley in March 2013

March 2013 was warmer & drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 47.9F/8.8C.  The normal mean temperature is 46.5F/8C.  The lowest temperature was 32F/0C, the highest 69F/20.6C.  Total precipitation was 2.74 inches.  Normal precipitation is 3.72 inches.  There were 5 days with rain, 19 days with light rain, 1 day with sleet, 16 days with fog (3 of them at a visibility of less than 1/4 mile), 2 days with haze, 17 cloudy days, 11 partly cloudy days & 3 fair days. 

March felt chilly & the skies were mostly dark with clouds. Light rain fell from time to time.  Arctostaphylos columbiana (hairy manzanita) Clematis armandii (evergreen clematis) major Narcissus (daffodil) Prunus serrulata (flowering cherry) Pulmonaria (lungwort) & Ribes sanguineum (flowering currant) began to bloom.  Around the middle of the month, leaves began to appear on Pyrus calleryana (Callery pear), Salix babylonica (weeping willow) & Syringa vulgaris (common lilac).  Buds swelled on many other shrubs & trees.  The last day of winter came on March 19.  The winter chill had diminished a week before. The last 3 days of the month were much warmer & sunny. Temperatures reached 65F/18.3C on 3/29, 68F/20C on 3/30 & 69F/20.6C on 3/31.

February in Seattle

Kubota Garden February 2013

Garrya issaquahensis (silk-tassel) at the Washington Park Arboretum February 2013

Hamamelis x intermedia (witch-hazel) at High Point February 2013

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir) in Mt Baker February 2013

February 2013 in Seattle was warmer & much drier than normal. The mean temperature was 44.4F/6.9C. The normal mean temperature is 43.4F/6.3C. The highest temperature was 56F/13.3C, the lowest 34F/1.1C.   Total precipitation was 1.58 inches.  Normal precipitation is 3.5 inches. There were 2 days with rain, 23 days with light rain, 15 days with fog (4 of them with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 4 days with haze, 23 cloudy days, 5 partly cloudy days & no fair days. However, there were many brief periods of sun.

Crocus, Hepatica (liverwort) miniature Narcissus & Primula (primrose) began to bloom.  Because many of the lightly rainy days had only occasional showers & the temperatures were not very cold, I was able to finish cutting dead branches & perennial stalks, & raking up leaves. My house in Mt Baker went back on the market on February 25 & had 2 offers to buy.  Meanwhile, digging began for the foundation of the new house at Rainier Vista in the Rainier Valley, slightly less than a mile away.

January in Seattle

Lincoln Park January 2013

Kerry Park January 2013

Thuja plicata on Queen Anne Hill January 2013

Seattle Center January 2013

Liquidambar styraciflua in Wedgwood January 2013

January 2013 in Seattle was significantly colder & drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 38.2F/3.44C.  The normal mean temperature is 42F/5.55C.  The highest temperature was 53F/11.66C on 1/8, the lowest was 24F/-4.44C on 1/13.  Total precipitation was 4.16 inches.  Normal precipitation is 5.57 inches.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 2 days with rain, 17 days with light rain, 1 day with light snow, 25 days with fog, 11 days of fog with visibility at less than 1/4 mile, 4 days with haze, 23 cloudy days, 5 partly cloudy days & 3 fair days.      

It was very unusual that no rain fell for 12 days between 1/11 & 1/22.  It was fairly cold, with highs mostly below 40F/4.44C & lows below freezing every night.  But even without rain, it was very moist.  The ground remained wet, with frost every morning & thin ice in places.  6 consecutive days of fog came at the end of this period, sometimes quite heavy & lingering throughout the day.  The weather returned to normal on 1/23 with rain & temperatures well above freezing.  The fog was beautiful, yet oddly inhibiting.  I did not go out walking, or work in the garden.

March in Seattle

Ribes sanguineum March 2012

Hepatica americana March 2012

Pulmonaria longifolia 'Bertram Anderson' March 2012

Hacquettia epipactis  March 2012

Helleborus lividus March 2012

March 2012 was colder & much wetter than normal.  The mean temperature was 43.1F/6.2C.  The normal mean temperature is 46.5F/8.1C.  The highest temperature was 60F/15.6C, the lowest 29F/-1.7C.  Total precipitation was 7.2 inches.  Normal precipitation is 3.72 inches.  There was 0.9 inch of snow.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 9 days with rain, 24 days with light rain, 1 day with heavy snow, 2 days with snow, 4 days with light snow, 1 day with sleet, 19 days with fog, 23 cloudy days, 7 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.

February Garden Pictures

Cyclamen coum February 2012

Euphorbia rigida February 2012

Helleburus x hybridus February 2012

Mahonia mairei February 2010

Stony slope February 2012

February 2012 was slightly colder & wetter than normal.  The mean temperature was 43.2/F/6.2C.  The normal mean temperature is 43.4F/6.3C.  The highest temperature was 61F/16.1C.  The lowest was 28F/-2.2C. Precipitation was 3.63 inches.  Normal precipitation is 3.5 inches. There was only a trace of snow.  There were 19 days with rain, 18 days with fog, 1 day with hail, 17 cloudy days, 9 partly cloudy days & 3 fair days.

January Garden Pictures

Sunrise from the Cascadia Garden January 2012

Berberis thunbergii 'Crimson Pygmy' January 2012

Agave toumeyana January 2012

Helleborus x hybridus January 2012

 Paeonia suffruticosa January 2012

January 2012 was colder & wetter, with much more snow than normal.  The mean temperature was 39.7F/4.3C, 2.3 degrees lower than normal.  The highest temperature was 55F/12.7C on January 1, the lowest 26F/-3.3C on January 15.  Total precipitation was 6.83 inches, 1.26 more than normal.  Total snowfall was 9.6 inches, 8.2 inches more than normal.  There were 2 fair days, 6 partly cloudy days & 23 cloudy days, with light rain on 21 days, rain on 9 days, light snow on 7 days, snow on 3 days, sleet on 1 day & fog on 22 days.  2.4 inches of snow fell on January 15, then 0.1 on January 16.  That melted on January 17.  6.8 inches fell on January 18, then 0.3 on January 19.  Seattle was pretty much at a standstill on those 4 snow-covered days.  The 2nd snowfall lingered as slush for 3 additional days, making driving & walking difficult.  I didn't leave the house for 5 days, except to shake snow from the branches of evergreen shrubs.  There was 1 large broken limb on Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Tempelhof' & several broken branches on Senecio munroi in the sidewalk garden.  Someone had dumped a heap of frozen snow on it from the roof of their car.  I cursed them for that.  Erica arborea 'Estrella Gold' leaned at an alarming angle under the weight of snow, but returned to an upright position once it had melted.  The last big snowfall, in December of 2008, caused much more damage to the garden.