Peeking Under the Hellebore

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

I could not kiss winter goodbye without celebrating the Hellebore. Breaking into bloom sometimes as early as January, the Hellebore lifts my spirits when I tip her pale blossoms upward to find the magic beneath. This variety above is a three-year old in my garden. She has just learned to manage the dry spells of summer with watering only twice a week. And this bloom! What a gift.

What strikes me about the Hellebore, much like our gorgeous native Columbine, is that I could have missed the party by just looking over her head. How could I know what a ruffled, violet-edged skirt she wore under those wide, protective petals? The realization makes me feel somehow small, but in a good way. It’s a reminder that flowers are not just for me, and that there is more beauty here than I might ever be able to take in. I imagine the Hellebore is content in her quiet alone time, nursing her future seed away from the snow and ice of February and March. Her coming is a bright herald of hope for me every time.

Where in your life have you discovered loveliness when you least expected it?