Lenten grows

Spurred on by lengthening days, it is light before seven o’clock in the morning now, their growth will become increasingly rapid during March. Soon the bare beds will be filled with new shoots and leaves heavy with the promise of summer blooms.

Late winter is not bereft of flowers and it is this time of year when the hellebores come into their own.

The thick, leathery leaves of the Lenten roses, Helleborus orientalis, that were produced last year have fallen away as flower stems began to appear in early January.

For a while, only the smallest bud was discernible, dark purple against frosty earth, but now it is growing taller and the buds expanding so that soon they will open out into beautiful large flowers.

The blooms of Lenten rose hybrids vary in shape and colour from the palest greenish or pale pink-tinged white, through to deepest warm plum or velvet purple.

The dark shades are the choicest and can be expensive, but these are my favourite. I have splashed out in the past two winters and bought a couple of small dark plants which have settled well into the cool, semi-shaded position these plants love.

This year there are a few more stems and we should get a good display of blooms from March through to April.

While Helleborus orientalis forms a neat clump of stems and leaves, its relative, Helleborus argutifolius (formally Helleborus corsicus), produces a mass of long shoots that tend to fall over other plants if it isn’t given enough room. Never-theless, it is a great plant for a partially shaded corner where its serrated evergreen leaves fill a winter gap in the flowerbed.

I have propped mine up this year with a few stems pinched from a dogwood. It looked strange to begin with, but over the past few weeks the hellebore has grown into a good-shaped, shrubby mound.

The stems are topped with light green flowerbuds, which will lengthen and open into large flowerheads made up of many green cup-shaped blooms that last for weeks. Weekend catch-up

WHILE on the subject of hellebores, it is a good idea to get rid of any old foliage remaining on these plants. This is especially true for the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, whose pale flowers can be damaged by Botrytis.

This grey mould produces large numbers of spores that spread by air currents or by water splashed from infected soil landing on to petals and leaves. The removal of old foliage can help to prevent it spreading to the flowers. It can be removed from January onwards, long before the flower stems appear, but it isn’t too late to do it now.

I also prune out old foliage from both Helleborus orientalis and H.argutifolius. Care needs to be taken with the latter plant as by now it is large and heavy with flower buds, but one two of the oldest stems can usually be identified and removed. Helleborus orientalis can be treated like H.niger and have all its old leaves cut away.

Diary date

MUCH of late winter is spent anticipating the spring, looking forward to the next signs of life, crocus and daffodils and tulips following one after another and launching us into summer.

The Harrogate Spring Flower Show is another step along the way and is the first big show of the year for many gardeners.

The 2009 show will be held at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate from Thursday April 23 to Sunday April 26.

Organised by the North of England Horticultural Society, the show, which is in its 82nd year, promises to deliver mouth-watering displays of spring bulbs, herbaceous perennials, bonsai, alpines and cacti.

Around 100 nurseries from the UK and Europe will exhibiting in the two flower halls, while seven horticultural colleges will be taking part in the College Garden Design competition.

Contemporary and traditional flower arrangements from flower clubs around the country will be found in the floristry and flower arranging marquee, while the plant society marquee will house exhibits from 20 national societies.

Experts on particular plants will be on hand to give advice but please note that the Alpine Society Show is on Saturday only. The show is open from 9.30am to 5.30am (4.30pm on Sunday) on each of the four days it runs. Tickets at the gate costing £14 for Thursday-Saturday and £12 on Sunday. Pre-booked tickets have a £2 reduction.

Book by phone on 0870 758 3333 Monday-Friday, 8.30am-4.30pm, online at flowershow.org.uk or by post with a cheque made payable to North of England Enterprises Ltd sent to Harrogate Flower Shows, 4a South park Road, Harrogate, HG1 5QU. All advance tickets must be booked before noon on Tuesday, April 2009. Tickets purchased in advance are non-refundable. Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow.

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, Gardening Phone-in. Presented by Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart, telephone number 01482 225 959.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Gardening. With Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC Radio 4. Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and chairman Eric Robson are in Nottinghamshire where they are guests of Long Eaton and District Horticultural Society. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).

8pm, BBC4, Sissinghurst. Adam and Sarah Nicolson continue with their renovations at Sissinghurst.

Friday.

3pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. John Cushnie, Matthew Biggs, Pippa Greenwood and chairman Eric Robson answer questions from members of Chipstead Flower Show Organisation in Surrey. The gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm.

Saturday, March 7.

7am, BBC Radio York, Plant Surgery. With presenter Julia Booth and horticulture expert Nigel Harrison.