Walking through town here I saw a pretty black hellebore, 'Lucy Black',
for sale, blooming in small 1 liter pots outside the florist. (They also
do plants in pots like pansies, etc.) The slate was illegible in the
rain, it looked like 2 or 4 EU, what a deal thought I!

Upon inquiry, the price for these little plants turned out to be 24 EU!
Goodness me, who would buy at that price?

Needless to say I continued, wallet safely tucked away...

-E



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

On 2014-03-01 19:48:17 +0000, Emery Davis said:

Walking through town here I saw a pretty black hellebore, 'Lucy Black',
for sale, blooming in small 1 liter pots outside the florist. (They also
do plants in pots like pansies, etc.) The slate was illegible in the
rain, it looked like 2 or 4 EU, what a deal thought I!

Upon inquiry, the price for these little plants turned out to be 24 EU!
Goodness me, who would buy at that price?

Needless to say I continued, wallet safely tucked away...

-E

Don't know that one but perhaps it's a new introduction? If so, it may
be expensive to the nursery but even so, I do agree that is one heck of
a price! I saw a photo of a rather nice lime green one I'm coveting -
Harrington or Harvington Lime Green, something like that.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 01/03/2014 20:18, sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-01 19:48:17 +0000, Emery Davis said:

Walking through town here I saw a pretty black hellebore, 'Lucy Black',
for sale, blooming in small 1 liter pots outside the florist. (They also
do plants in pots like pansies, etc.) The slate was illegible in the
rain, it looked like 2 or 4 EU, what a deal thought I!

Upon inquiry, the price for these little plants turned out to be 24 EU!
Goodness me, who would buy at that price?

Needless to say I continued, wallet safely tucked away...

-E

Don't know that one but perhaps it's a new introduction? If so, it may
be expensive to the nursery but even so, I do agree that is one heck of
a price! I saw a photo of a rather nice lime green one I'm coveting -
Harrington or Harvington Lime Green, something like that.


Way over the top, I just googled Hellebore Lucy Black and found
http://www.grasslands.co.uk/hellebor...litre-pot.html
Amongst many others

On Sat, 01 Mar 2014 20:50:07 +0000, David Hill wrote:

On 01/03/2014 20:18, sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-01 19:48:17 +0000, Emery Davis said:

Upon inquiry, the price for these little plants turned out to be 24
EU! Goodness me, who would buy at that price?

Needless to say I continued, wallet safely tucked away...

-E

Don't know that one but perhaps it's a new introduction? If so, it may
be expensive to the nursery but even so, I do agree that is one heck of
a price! I saw a photo of a rather nice lime green one I'm coveting -
Harrington or Harvington Lime Green, something like that.


Way over the top, I just googled Hellebore Lucy Black and found
http://www.grasslands.co.uk/hellebor...black-2-litre-
pot.html

Indeed, I found it available for 9 or 10 EU, still expensive but 2.5 X
cheaper none the less! Really a showy hellebore though, I might well
spring for it at 10, but at 24... well as P.T. Barnum said...

'Harvington Lime' is very pretty, I'm guessing that's the one. There's a
double also. I do like the simple green hellebores though. We had one
that seems to have turned pink, I wonder if that happens often?




--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

On 2014-03-01 21:32:59 +0000, Emery Davis said:

On Sat, 01 Mar 2014 20:50:07 +0000, David Hill wrote:

On 01/03/2014 20:18, sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-01 19:48:17 +0000, Emery Davis said:

Upon inquiry, the price for these little plants turned out to be 24
EU! Goodness me, who would buy at that price?

Needless to say I continued, wallet safely tucked away...

-E

Don't know that one but perhaps it's a new introduction? If so, it may
be expensive to the nursery but even so, I do agree that is one heck of
a price! I saw a photo of a rather nice lime green one I'm coveting -
Harrington or Harvington Lime Green, something like that.


Way over the top, I just googled Hellebore Lucy Black and found
http://www.grasslands.co.uk/hellebor...black-2-litre-
pot.html

Indeed, I found it available for 9 or 10 EU, still expensive but 2.5 X
cheaper none the less! Really a showy hellebore though, I might well
spring for it at 10, but at 24... well as P.T. Barnum said...

'Harvington Lime' is very pretty, I'm guessing that's the one. There's a
double also. I do like the simple green hellebores though. We had one
that seems to have turned pink, I wonder if that happens often?

Yes, that's the one. I don't usually like doubles because they get too
fussy but the colour of that redems it, imo. I'm told that Hellebores
are rather promiscuous, so hybridising occurs easily.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Sacha" wrote:
On 2014-03-01 21:32:59 +0000, Emery Davis said:
'Harvington Lime' is very pretty, I'm guessing that's the one.
There's a double also. I do like the simple green hellebores though.
We had one that seems to have turned pink, I wonder if that happens
often?

Yes, that's the one. I don't usually like doubles because they get too
fussy but the colour of that redems it, imo. I'm told that Hellebores
are rather promiscuous, so hybridising occurs easily.

There's a good H. foetidus with bronzey foliage and reddish stems called
Harvington Pewter which I think is rather handsome, but all the
hellebores are looking wonderful at the moment.

--
Sue

On 2014-03-05 00:52:31 +0000, Indigo said:

"Sacha" wrote:
On 2014-03-01 21:32:59 +0000, Emery Davis said:
'Harvington Lime' is very pretty, I'm guessing that's the one.
There's a double also. I do like the simple green hellebores though.
We had one that seems to have turned pink, I wonder if that happens
often?

Yes, that's the one. I don't usually like doubles because they get too
fussy but the colour of that redems it, imo. I'm told that Hellebores
are rather promiscuous, so hybridising occurs easily.

There's a good H. foetidus with bronzey foliage and reddish stems called
Harvington Pewter which I think is rather handsome, but all the
hellebores are looking wonderful at the moment.

They are. This seems to be a particularly good year.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article ,
says...

Walking through town here I saw a pretty black hellebore, 'Lucy Black',
for sale, blooming in small 1 liter pots outside the florist. (They also
do plants in pots like pansies, etc.) The slate was illegible in the
rain, it looked like 2 or 4 EU, what a deal thought I!

Upon inquiry, the price for these little plants turned out to be 24 EU!
Goodness me, who would buy at that price?

That would be the well-heeled lady and her daughter I saw just two
days ago. The Mummy and I were ogling the fabulous display of
hellebores at a nursery where I was boggling at the prices, well over
£20 quid (but knew I would succumb to one of the cheapest, hah).I was
just in time to snag the last Harvington Dusky at £12 (single purple
with a hint of a pale edge).Lots were over £20.

I noticed that this pair were rifling through the display stands like a
dose of salts but putting nothing back. I made some sociable comment
about "so hard to choose, isn't it" until it dawned on me..they weren't
"choosing", or putting any back, because they were going to buy
whatever caught their eye. Mummy was obviously a hellebore enthusiast
trying to get her not-very-interested daughter hooked. They both had a
hand-basket but the baskets were too small; they had to fetch a trolley
to carry all their hellebores. Mummy was oblivious to price and ahead
of me at the till... where she paid for her selection of hellebores,
over £300 worth, without batting an eye.

Janet.

On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:28:18 +0000, Janet wrote:

hellebores. Mummy was oblivious to price and ahead of me at the till...
where she paid for her selection of hellebores, over £300 worth, without
batting an eye.

Gah! Breeding (or lack of it) will out!

Harvington Dusky looks very pretty, well done. Except for the
price... Sometimes very hard to resist as I well know.

-E


--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:28:18 +0000, Janet wrote:

hellebores. Mummy was oblivious to price and ahead of me at the till...
where she paid for her selection of hellebores, over £300 worth, without
batting an eye.

Gah! Breeding (or lack of it) will out!

Talking of breeding.. I'd also picked Harvington Dusky with an eye to
its love-life with some of my pale and spotted hellebores and remarked
to The Mummy what gorgeous babies our new purchases might produce. She
said blankly " Do they? I wouldn't know, I've never divided mine".

I pictured her or her jobbing gardener hoeing out all those pesky little
two-leaf seedlings... or tidying up the flowerheads before the seeds
have fallen..

Harvington Dusky looks very pretty, well done. Except for the
price... Sometimes very hard to resist as I well know.

Yebbut, but thanks to that pair, "only £12" felt positively cheap. The
only downside was that John was not there to compare and appreciate my
horticultural parsimony.

Janet