martedì 27 gennaio 2015

Elleboro, stella d'inverno, tra miti, leggende ed antiche tradizioni colturali britanniche.



”Vammi in cerca dell’Elleboro nero, che il 

senno renda a questa creatura”.



Gabriele D'Annunzio, La figlia di Iorio, 1903




A questa robusta e temeraria pianta rizomatosa che appare nei boschi tra la fine di gennaio e l'inizio di febbraio, ovvero nel periodo più freddo dell'anno, la floriografia vittoriana attribuì il significato di 'Liberazione dall'angoscia' forse, chissà, se memore dei miti classici cui è legato.




John William Godward, In the Days of Sappho, 1904




Narra infatti una leggenda che un pastore di nome Melampo, indovino e guaritore, avendo osservato che il proprio gregge si purgava mangiando piante di elleboro, pensò di somministrarne alle figlie di Preto, l'allora re di Argo, colpite dalla follia tanto che credevano di essere diventate vacche; con questo espediente egli le guarì guadagnando come ricompensa una parte del regno e la mano di una di loro.
Anche Eracle, secondo la mitologia, sarebbe stato guarito dalla pazzia grazie a questa pianta e per tale motivo gli antichi greci erano usi dire che una persona “aveva bisogno dell’elleboro ” per indicarne la cattiva salute mentale e molti malati di mente si recavano a quel tempo ad Antycira, nel golfo di Corinto, luogo rinomato per la vegetazione ricca di questa pianta rizomatosa dai fiori candidi come la neve, come consiglierà anche più tardi il poeta latino Orazio.







Si dice inoltre che i primi filosofi dell'Ellade ricorressero ai principi di questa pianta per raggiungere uno stato catatonico pseudo ipnotico, molto simile alla meditazione profonda: le radici ed il rizoma dell'elleboro contengono infatti una sostanza narcotica, simile a quella contenuta nella belladonna, dalle proprietà anestetiche, narcotiche ed allucinatorie, un glucoside detto elleborina che se assunto in dosi eccessive può avere effetti fatali.
Anche la ninfomania, ovvero l'esuberanza sessuale femminile, era curata con successo con l'elleboro tanto da consentirgli di meritare anche la definizione di "pianta delle streghe": 




Acquerello del 1912 che rappresenta un insieme di piante tossiche reperibili in natura



esso era aggiunto in ricette dal potere taumaturgico e misterioso a vulvaria, camomilla, canfora, valeriana e lattuga velenosa (tridax agria, di cui parla anche Ildegarda di Bingen, naturalista tedesca vissuta a cavallo tra il X° e l'XI° secolo); insieme con il giusquiamo (l'"erba di Circe"), la belladonna e l'aconito, era utilizzato in pozioni capaci di tramutare gli uomini in animali.
Ed infine anche una leggenda celtica vuole che camminando spargendo alle proprie spalle polvere di radice di elleboro si conquisti l'invisibilità, l'importante è coglierlo nelle notti in cui vi sia il plenilunio !




Oggi possiamo ammirarne ibridi botanici dalle più svariate sfumature coltivate con successo nell'areale sub-Atlantico ed in Italia, nelle regioni più a nord, poiché vuole temperature piuttosto rigide nei mesi invernali e latitudini non troppo prossime al mare.

Vi lascio ad ammirare le fotografie che l'anno scorso a febbraio recò Cristina insieme con quelle dei Galanthus Nivali, ovvero dei bucaneve, ( http://sweetlydreamingofthepast.blogspot.it/2014/02/snowdrops-beloved-early-signs-of-spring.html ) da Ashwood Garden and Nurseries ( Kingswinford - West Midlands ) e dal Bennington Lordship Garden ( Herthfordshire ), due giardini - vivai che si sono specializzati in queste colture così tanto ricercate per bordure di perenni in epoca vittoriana ... ne ho composto dei collages, sono talmente tante e così meravigliose, dovevo trovare il modo per mostrarvele tutte ...












Dovete sapere infatti che la terra di Gran Bretagna vanta la più antica tradizione in fatto di amore, conoscenza e coltura degli ellebori, di cui si hanno notizie certe, pensate, risalenti già al XVII°secolo !
Cito dal libro "Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present" scritto da Catherine Horwood:


In Lancashire in un tempo non ben precisato sul finire dell'anno 1620, padrona Thomasin Tunstall, che abitava non lontano dal villaggio che portava il suo nome di famiglia nei pressi del castello di Hornby, avvolse accuratamente alcune radici di uno dei suoi ellebori preferiti. Le aveva estirpate da un cespuglio che stava crescendo sul terreno circostante la sua casa, Bull-Banke, vicino alla riva boscosa del fiume Greta che si snodava tra le colline selvagge del Lancashire e del North Yorkshire. Accuratamente, le preparò per inviarle a Londra al suo amico, il famoso farmacista ed erborista John Parkinson.

Inviare piante ad una distanza tale era un'impresa ardua ed ella voleva che le radici si conservassero dormienti per avere una buona possibilità di sopravvivenza. Forse utilizzò alcuni stracci umidi in modo che non avessero da disseccarsi durante il lungo viaggio. Padrona Tunstall sapeva che Parkinson stava dando creando il suo giardino a Long Acre in Covent Garden ed era sempre contento di accettare nuove scoperte. Nel pacchetto nascose inoltre una nota che descriveva le loro fioriture come piccole e bianche 'con una tendenza dei fiori ad arrossire'. Parkinson, dal canto suo, fu senza alcun dubbio felice di ricevere questo nuova varietà dalla sua entusiasta amica e corrispondente in giardinaggio. Anche se era uno dei farmacisti più famosi di Londra, la sua grande passione erano il suo giardino e lo studio delle piante. Egli stava anche raccogliendo informazioni per scrivere il suo primo libro - che sarà anche quello di maggior successo - sull'orticoltura, "Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris", che pubblicherà nel 1629. In esso, egli elenca le molte varietà di piante che coltivava nel suo amato giardino a Long Acre, molte delle quali gli furono fornite dai contatti sparsi in tutto il paese. Egli menziona Padrona Tunstall in particolare, descrivendola nel suo libro come 'una gentildonna cortese'. Nel giro di un anno o giù di lì, fu felice di riferire che i suoi ellebori avevano 'generato dei fiori graziosi' e di concludere che ella fosse davvero una 'grande amante' di piante rare. 1


E questi sono gli ibridi che crescono, per ora, qui a Tenuta Geremia.








Nei boschi di Tenuta Geremia è particolarmente diffuso l'Helleborus foetidus, che deve il proprio nome al fatto che si dice sia maleodorante, almeno lo era secondo Carl von Linné (1707 – 1778) biologo e scrittore svedese, considerato il padre della moderna classificazione scientifica degli organismi viventi, che lo inserì con questa definizione nella pubblicazione "Species Plantarum" del 1753; egli, però, classificandolo, tenne a specificare che non tutti gli esemplari lo fossero e qui, forse per la composizione del terreno, i fiori non emanano alcun odore, si fanno semplicemente ammirare per la vezzosità delle loro numerosissime corolle a grappolo orlate di un vivace bordeaux.




E su questa immagine degli ultimi raggi di un sole invernale vi saluto con immenso affetto citando i versi di Hermann Hesse (1877 – 1962, Premio Nobel per la Letteratura nel 1946 )






Tienimi per mano al tramonto, 

quando il giorno si spegne e l’oscurità fa scivolare il suo drappo di stelle… 

Tienila stretta quando non riesco a viverlo questo mondo imperfetto… 

Tienimi per mano… portami dove il tempo non esiste…


( da Halten Sie mich bei der Hand - Tienimi per mano )





A presto 












Bibliografia:

Catherine Horwood, Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present, Virago Press, 2010



Citazioni: 

1 - Catherine Horwood, Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present, Virago Press, 2010, pag.9










Hellebore, star of the Winter, amongst myths, legends and British ancient growing traditions.





"Go and look for the black hellebore, that it
makes the good sense come back to this creature. "




Gabriele D'Annunzio, La figlia di Iorio, 1903




- picture 1



To this robust and reckless rhizomatous plant that appears in the woods between late January and early February, that's the coldest period of the year, the Victorian floriography attributed the meaning of 'Liberation from anguish' maybe, if reminiscent of the classic myths holding it dear.



- picture 2 - John William Godward, In the Days of Sappho, 1904



In fact, a legend goes that a shepherd named Melampus, diviner and healer, having noted that his flock purged itself by eating plants of hellebore, he thought to pick up some of them to take to the daughters of Preto, the then king of Argos, affected by madness ( they thought have become cows ); with this gimmick he healed them gaining as a reward a part of the kingdom and the hand of one of the princess.
Even Hercules, according to the mythology, was cured of madness thanks to this plant, which is why the ancient Greeks were accustomed to say that a person "needed hellebore" to indicate the mental insanity and many mentally ill people went to Antycira, in the Gulf of Corinth, a place renowned for its rich vegetation of this rhizomatous plant whose flowers are as white as the snow, as also will advise, later, the Roman poet Horace.




- picture 3


- picture 4 



It is said that the first philosophers from Hellas resorted to the principles of this plant to reach a catatonic alias pseudo hypnotic state, very similar to a deep meditation: its roots and its rhizome, in fact, contain a narcotic substance, similar to that contained in the deadly nightshade-belladonna from anesthetic, soporific and hallucinatory properties, a glucoside named helleborine that if taken in excess can have fatal effects.
Even nymphomania or female sexual exuberance, was successfully treated with hellebore and they said it was efficacius enough to allow it to deserve even the definition of "plant of the witches":



- picture 5 - A watercolour dating back to 1912 depicting a bunch of poisonous wild flowers



it was added in recipes by the mysterious and miraculous power to vulvaria, chamomile, camphor, valerian and poisonous lettuce (tridax agria, also mentioned by Hildegard of Bingen, the German naturalist lived between the Xth and XIth century); together with henbane ("The Circe's grass"), deadly nightshade-belladonna and aconite was used in potions capable of turning men into animals.
And finally also a Celtic legend goes that walking spreading behind powder of roots of hellebore you may conquer the invisibility, the important thing is digging them up on full moon nights !



- picture 6



Today we can admire its botanical hybrids with so many varied shades cultivated with facility and successfully in the sub-Atlantic area and in Italy, in the regions lying in the north, because it wants fairly cold during the winter months and latitudes not too close to the sea.

I let you admire the photographs taken the last February from Cristina when she took those of the snowdrops-Galanthus nivalis 
( http://sweetlydreamingofthepast.blogspot.it/2014/02/snowdrops-beloved-early-signs-of-spring.html ) during her visit to the Ashwood Nurseries and Garden (Kingswinford - West Midlands) and Bennington Lordship Garden (Herthfordshire), two gardens - nurseries who specialized themselves in these crops so much loved for perennial borders and flowerbeds during the Victorian era .... I have composed some collages because they're so many and so wonderful, I wanted to show you them all ...



- picture 7



- picture 8



- picture 9



- picture 10



- picture 11




You have to know that in fact the land of Great Britain has the oldest tradition of love, knowledge and culture of hellebores, of which we have some news, think, already dating back to the XVIIth century !
I'm going to quote from the book "Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present" written by Catherine Horwood:


In Lancashire some time in the late 1620s, Mistress Thomasin Tunstall, who lived not far from the village which bore her family name near Hornby castle, carefully wrapped up some roots of one of her favourite hellebores. She had dug them up from a clump growing on the land surrounding her home, Bull-banke, close to the wooded edge of the river Greta which wound its way between the wild fells of Lancashire and North Yorkshire. Painstakingly, she prepared to send them to London to her friend, the famed apothecary and herbalist John Parkinson. Sending plants such a distance was a fraught business and she would have wanted the dormant roots 



- picture 12 - to have a good chance of survival. She may have used damp rags so that they did not dye out on the long journey. Mistress Tunstall knew that Parkinson was developing his garden in Long Acre in Covent Garden and was always pleased to accept new discoveries. Into the package she tucked a note describing their blooms as small and white 'with blush flowers'.
Parkinson, for his part, was no doubt excited to receive this new variety from his enthusiastic friend and gardening correspondent. Although he was one of London's leading apothecaries, his great passion lay in his garden and the study of plants. He was also gathering informations for his first and most succesful book on horticolture, "Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris", which he published in 1629. in it, he listed the many varieties of plants that he grew in his beloved garden in Long Acre, many of which have been supplied to him from horticoltural contacts across the country. He mention Mistress Tunstall in particular, describing her in his book as 'a corteous Gentlewoman'. Within a year or so, he was delighted to report that her hellebores had 'born faire flowers' and to conclude that she was indeed a 'great lover' of rare plants. 1

And these are the ones growing, at the moment, here at Tenuta Geremia



- picture 13


- picture 14



- picture 15




In the woods sealing Tenuta Geremia is particularly widespread the helleborus foetidus, which owes its name to the fact that it is said to be smelly, at least it was according to Carl von Linné (1707 - 1778) the Swedish biologist and writer, considered the father of modern scientific classification of every living organisms, which included it with this definition in the publication "Species Plantarum" in 1753; he, however, classifying it, held to specify that not all the specimens had this flaw, and those growing here, perhaps for the composition of the soil, have their flowers giving off no smell, you have just to admire the charming of their numerous corollas arranged in cluster, edged a lively burgundy.



- picture 16



And on this image of the last rays of a Winter sun I greet you with much love quoting the verses by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946)



- picture 17





Hold my hand at the sunset,

when the day goes out and the darkness slips her drape of stars ...

Hold her close when I cannot live this imperfect world ...

Hold my hand ... take me where time does not exist ...



 ( excerpt from Halten Sie mich bei der Hand - Hold my hand )



See you soon 












Bibliography:

Catherine Horwood, Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present, Virago Press, 2010



Quotations: 

1 - Catherine Horwood, Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present, Virago Press, 2010, page 9







LINKING WITH:



























63 commenti:

  1. Deliziata dalle incantevoli immagini di questi bellissimi fiori, ho letto con interesse le tue parole. Riesci sempre a farmi vivere un sogno romantico!
    Bacioni
    Alessandra

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Alessandra
      romantica amica mia, con le tue parole mi fai un complimento che mi va dritto al cuore, ti ringrazio tanto !!!
      Ti abbraccio forte forte ❤

      Elimina
  2. Carissima Daniela...pure io mi sono innamorata di questi deliziosi fiori ..e per il momento ho messo due grossi vasi di coccio ai lati del portoncino d'ingresso di casa mia .
    Vedo che il giardino di tenuta Geremia ne è pieno e non solo i classici bianchi, ma a due colori ,bordeaux..neri..sono veramente bellissimi!!
    Grazie carissima di avermi fatto conoscere le bellissime storie che stanno dietro questo purissimo fiore!
    A

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ A
      grazie a te, mia cara, per la ventata di dolcezza che sempre porti qui con le tue parole !
      Che la tua serata sia lieta e che il prosieguo della settimana ti porti solamente le gioie che il tuo cuore merita ⊰✿⊱

      Elimina
  3. Dearest Dany, I always feel so at peace when I visit your beautiful blog :) I love the artwork you share and I am always learning something new from your lovely posts.

    Love and hugs to you, my friend!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Stephanie
      I'm so happy to give you some relax and peace as a gift, it sounds so beautiful to my heart !
      Thank you, my dear friend, for your friendship, your words and for to be here, I'm sending blessings to you •ಌ••ಌ•

      Elimina
  4. Cara Dany, che delicatezza e che energia in questo post, sembra di respirare la primavera!
    E che sorpresa ritrovare Cristina e le sue meravigliose foto!
    Un grande abbraccio a te ed uno a Cristina
    Barbara

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Barbara
      che piacere immenso questa tua visita, e le tue parole ... sono una gioia per il mio cuore e lo saranno sicuramente anche per Cristina, ne sono certa !
      Ti auguro una serena giornata mia cara, in questo inverno che sembra si sia da poco ricordato di essere giunto, e ti ringrazio ancora, sinceramente, con tanto affetto ed ammirazione ❥

      Elimina
    2. @ Barbara
      ... magari leggendo avrai anche pensato che solamente io potevo mettere insieme, citandoli, D'Annunzio ed Hesse ... forse l'energia che percepisci emana anche da questo averli affiancati, chissà :D !

      Elimina
  5. Non so se mi hanno commossa di più
    i tuoi bellissimi fiori o l'ultima citazione....
    me la devo scrivere è stupenda!!!!
    Anche questa volta ti devo ringraziare, apri
    i miei orizzonti verso nuove conoscenze...
    Un abbraccio mia bella.
    Love Susy ♥

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Susy
      quale entusiasmo alimentano in me le tue bellissime parole mia carissima amica !
      Beh, va detto che le fotografie più spettacolari sono sicuramente quelle degli ibridi inglesi immortalati da Cristina e comunque ti anticipo che vorrei presto integrare quelli di Tenuta Geremia con nuovi esemplari, sono molto appassionata di questi primissimi fiori dell'anno che colorano il periodo più cupo e freddo dell'inverno.
      Sono felicissima infine di leggere che ti sia piaciuta così tanto la citazione di Hesse, io lo adoro !
      ஐ Trascorri un lieto weekend, mia dolce, ti abbraccio con immensa gratitudine ஐ

      Elimina
  6. Daniela carissima , il tuo post è stata per me una paradisiaca passeggiata tra gli ellebori , tenaci e fantasiosi nel loro splendore .
    Quanto sei brava !
    Lieta serata ,
    Franca

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Franca
      dolce e preziosa amica mia, ti giunga colmo di affetto il mio ringraziamento, ma questa volta sarebbe ingiusto appropriarmi di ogni merito, sento con il cuore di doverlo doverosamente dividere con la cara Cristina che molto amichevolmente e amorevolmente mi fa dono delle sue fotografie perché le utilizzi in estrema libertà.
      Con tanta, tanta gratitudine ti auguro una notte serena ed un fine settimana colmo di gioia ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  7. A marvelous post about this marvelous flower! I love hellebores, and they are my mom's fav winter flowers. ❤ Life is tought at the moment, but you always put a smile on my face! xo my dear!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Kia
      I'm so sad, my dearest and sweetest friend of mine, while reading that you're living a period of concern, so very sorry, but let me hope that everything will soon go better and better ...
      That's why your words are even much more important to me, despite everything you can find the time and the want to come and visit me !
      ღ I'm sending hugs and love to you and your Mom, take care darling, I hope to receive good news very soon ღ

      Elimina
  8. Lovely story about the wonderful Hellebore, Dany !
    Wishing you a great weekend, sweet friend !
    Hugs,
    Sylvia

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Sylvia
      I wonder how many lovely hellebores you grow in your garden, I think your climate is ideal for them !
      Have a joy-filled weekend you too, my dearest friend, sending much love ✿≼≽✿

      Elimina
  9. Cara amica come si può' affermare che il mondo è' imperfetto osservando queste meraviglie? Eppure lo è..eccome, ma a me queste meravigliose immagini fanno pensare che qualcuno non poteva che averlo creato perfetto. Grazie per aver allietato il mio risveglio domenicale in questo modo, un abbraccio, Laura

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Laura
      buongiorno mia cara !
      Credo fermamente che il mondo sia stato creato ben più che perfetto e che a guastarlo siamo, poco per volta, si sia stati noi, e continuiamo a farlo con i nostri cattivi sentimenti, la nostra indifferenza, i nostri egoismi, ma nonostante tutto la Natura continua a manifestarci, con umiltà ed al contempo con fierezza, il patrimonio meraviglioso che ci circonda.
      Felicissima di aver salutato il tuo risveglio con serenità, ti auguro una domenica colma di gioia ed un inizio di settimana altrettanto lieto abbracciandoti con affetto e gratitudine ಌ ♥ ಌ

      Elimina
  10. Hellbores are flowers that I do not see often here, Dany! It is fascinating to read the lore about them!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Pat
      could you tell me how many days of travel are necessary to make you reach a package from here, I haven't got the slightest idea ! I think your climate is lovely for growing hellebores, more cold they recieve and more in bloom they grow, so if you like them I'd be pleased to send you some plants of mine, but we have to be certain that the travel isn't too long .... Actually I've never sent anything to USA .. I wonder if by air-mail the travel takes a long time ...
      By the moment I'm sending you lots of hugs and good wishes for the next weekend ahead ⊰❤⊱

      Elimina
  11. I'm here for the first time via another blog and it'such a surprise, love your story about the Hellebores and the photos and then the carriage with the horses running, just gorgeous. I'm definitely your new follower.
    Regards and until next time!
    Janneke

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Janneke
      your beutiful words sound so sweet to my heart and fill it with such a deep joy, I wholeheratedly thank you for them and for following me with so much enthusiasm, you're so welcome among us !

      Hope you're having a great week so far,
      with so much gratitude I'm sending hugs to you ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  12. ... Hello Daniela... I'm from Australia and I love this post.
    I think Hellebores are beautiful flowers... and they come in such beautiful colours....
    Hugs... Barb xxx

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Barb
      a big hello to you and welcome at ~ My little old world ~ !
      For some years, there are some nurseries specializing just in cross breeding hellebores, especially in England, where most of these photographs come from, taken from my sweet friend Cristina .. I also feel so fascinated by them !
      You live in such a wonderful Country, but your climate doesn't allow you to grow them, alas ... but I'm far certain you've such gorgeous flowers in your gardens which cannot live in Europe !

      Thanking you sincerely, my friend,
      I wish you a most wonderful weekend ahead ༺❀༻

      Elimina
  13. Darling friend, what a fascinating history about the Hellbores...I had no idea :)

    Ahhh...to visit you is such a joy and a gift to my heart. You are so precious my friend and your kindness shines through your posts.

    Thinking of you! Thank you for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. Much love to you!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Stephanie
      YOU are a gift to me, my darling, and what a blessing to have you here, with your words always filled with love, sweetness and sensitivity !
      To share my posts on your weekly link-up party is such a joy to me, you cannot even imagine, indeed, thank you for appreciating them, dearie !

      May your day be blessed with so, so much joy, my wonderful friend,
      thinking of you with a lot of love and esteem ஐღஐ

      Elimina
  14. A delightful and informative post Daniela, with such beautiful images. I have Hellebores growing in my garden here in Scotland. They are a beautiful pale ivory colour and are always a delight when they first appear early in the season.
    It was so interesting to read all about them. I shall smile and think of you when look at them today.
    Have a wonderful week :D

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Neesie
      you're so welcome, your words truly fill my heart with joy !
      I also love these wonderful flowers because they're among the first to colours the late Winter days .. I'd love to collect them, as I did, and still I'm doing, with ancient and English roses and with Hydrangeas, but here in Italy it's not too easy to find them ... in England there are such amazing little nurseries working only on them, which breed new exemplars and sell them, where these pictures has been taken ... I wonder if they'd sell them by mail ...
      Certainly in Scotland you've the most suited climate for them, I wonder how their bushes grow fastly !

      Thanks most sincerely, my sweet friend, for your amiability and you kindness, have a beautiful remainder of your week,
      sending dear hugs to you ❥

      Elimina
  15. Hello, what a lovely post and beautiful images. I wish I had some hellebores growing in my garden, they are gorgeous blooms. Happy Monday, enjoy your day!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ eileen
      hi darling, thank you for your so very beautiful words !
      Of course, if you haven't hellebores plants in your garden yet, you have to plant at least a few of them ... to see their flowers in bloom, during this period of the year, will truly bless your heart, I'm sure !

      Thank you for visiting me always with so much enthusiasm and interest, my sweetest one,
      may your new week be filled with joy,
      sending so much love across the Ocean ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  16. Risposte
    1. @ Mersad
      it's my pleasure, my friend, you're so very welcome !

      I wish you a most beautiful new week,
      ⊰♥⊱ sending hugs, with so much thankfulness ⊰♥⊱

      Elimina
  17. What an interesting post, Daniela, with such pretty flowers. I enjoyed reading about the legend of Melampus and the sheep. Hope you are having a wonderful day.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Judy
      I'm so very glad to read that you've enjoyed this reading and these flowers, which colour these days of ours, I thank you with all my heart !

      With so much gratitude I wish you all the best for you new week, my sweetest, dearest friend,
      sending so dear love to you ✿⋰♡⋱✿

      Elimina
  18. An informative post on hellebores Dany. I planted my first one last year and hope it makes it through the extreme cold of our winter to bring me joy this spring. They come in so many pretty colours.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Judith
      precious friend of mine, don't worry, they love cold and there's no limit to their strenght and sturdiness !
      I'm sure that, when you less think about it, he'll appear in your flowerbed next Spring !
      If I may give an advice to you, if you have intention to plant more bushes of them, keep them quite separate, at a certain distance one from another, because with the passing of the years they tend to lose their original shades and colours and to hybridize by themselves quite easily.

      Enjoy your new week, my darling friend,
      thinking of you with love and admiration ღ❀ღ

      Elimina
  19. Dear Dany:
    I am so in love with your blog and music. I love these garden photos and hop I can grow Hellebores in Missouri. These are wonderful and I am so glad you shared!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Bernideen
      I thank you so heartily !!!
      If in Missoury you haven't too mild Winters and too hot Summers, why not, of course you can think of planting them, the most important thing is that you put them in mid-shade, not in full sun, and don't water them too much,
      they fear the attacks of molds.

      So overjoyed to have you here and to read your words of enthusiasm filling my heart with deep gladness, I wish you a most wonderful new week, my dearest friend, I'm always in so high spirits when you come and visit me !
      ♥♡♥ Sending love to you ♥♡♥

      Elimina
  20. Stunning images of hellebores Dany...and love learning so much new info! Waiting for the snow to stop and thaw so I can see mine bloom.

    Donna@GardensEyeView
    and LivingFromHappiness

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Donna
      actually the most beautiful images are a gift of my darling friend Cristina who went to visit some gardens and nurseries in England last year - those of the most colourful collages - !
      I'm sure that in your garden your hellebores are waiting under the snow to see the light of the sun and to show you all their simple beauty !

      May your new week be blessed with so much joy, my sweetest friend,
      sending dear, big hugs to you, with a lot of love ⊰✽*✽⊱

      Elimina
  21. A lovely post today. I do love hellebores. Each one is prettier than the last.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Beth
      you're so sweet, I welcome you with a hug, thanking you most sincerely !

      Enjoy your new week,
      ❤ sending love ❤

      Elimina
  22. Risposte
    1. @ Tanya
      Good morning my sweet friend !
      Thank you so much, the gardens you see in the photographs are some of those belonging to Tenuta Geremia, the place I live in, I'm truly honoured by your words !

      Have a very happy new week, my friend ಌ❀ಌ

      Elimina
  23. The flowers are hauntingly beautiful. Thank you for introducing them to me!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ JES
      I'm so very glad that the charm of hellebores won your heart, my darling, I'm far sure that they'd live in your climate very well ... It's a pity, for the too long travel, that I cannot send some little plants of mine to you ... alas !

      Sending blessings on the end of your week, dearest, precious friend of mine, with so much love and gratitude ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  24. Beautiful Dany! Here everything is buried under half a meter of snow - but they'll survive!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ riitta k
      Dearest, enjoy your snow, it's one of Winter's delight!
      Here we're not having cold Winters for years, alas, and it's not a good thing, for everything in Nature ... wintry sleep is basic for the health of plants and trees in the good season ... and so important to avoid drought during the Summer!

      Sending blessings on your weekend ahead,
      with sincere gratitude,
      you're such a loving hostess •♥•♥•♥•

      Elimina
  25. Beautiful flowers. I love them so much. Your pictures are always so wonderful.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ annie
      your words fill my heart to overflowing, I heartily thank you, lovely lady!

      With utmost gratitude,
      I'm sending blessings on your way ❥

      Elimina
  26. Lovely images! Hope you have a fantastic week!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Kelleyn Rothaermel
      Trusting you also are enjoying a beautiful week,
      I'm sending my dearest love to you,
      sweet friend!

      Thank you for taking the time for visiting
      and for commenting with enthusiasm,
      I'm sincerely glad you loved it ༺♡❀♡༻

      Elimina
  27. Thanks you for linking up at this week's party at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2018/01/fun-with-textures-in-photoshop.html

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ NC Sue
      it is I who thank you, dearest one, you're such a lovely hostess!

      Wishing you a most lovely remainder of your week ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  28. Stunning photos Dani! I love Hellebores. They are one of the first things to bloom in my garden after winter. It's been so mild here they will be blooming soon. Can't wait! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Jann
      Dearest One, I'm so, so glad to welcome you here, your beautiful words filled my heart to overflowing, thank you!

      Wishing you a wonderful late Winter blooming,
      I'm sending hugs and more hugs to you,
      always thinking of you with gratitude and much love ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina
  29. So beautiful and so colorful. Wow.

    Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week, Daniela. ♥

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Sandee,
      I heartily thank you for taking always the time both for visiting and for leaving a beautiful comment!
      May your week also be fabulous,
      sending a big hug to you too *♥*ஐ*♥*

      Elimina
  30. Daniela - hellebores are lovely, but they do not do well in Montana. We do have a native plant called False Hellebore, which is poisonous. In fact, it is said that you should not pick huckleberries that grow near False Hellebore, as the poison can pass through the roots to the berries! The pictures accompanying this post are lovely. Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Angie,
      Dearest one, we also have False Hellebore growing spontaneous in our woods and it's poisonous, you're right!
      All the Hellebores you've seen in my shots are cultivated and grown in gardens, mostly here in Tenuta Geremia.
      I'm so sorry that your climate doesn't allow you to grow them in your garden, they're so beautiful not only for their wonderful colours and shades, but because they're amongst the very first plants blooming at the beginning of the year, here in late Winter.
      Sending you my dearest love ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  31. ...they are a beautiful part of spring, thanks for sharing.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Tom,
      Sweet friend of mine, it's always such a joy to welcome you here, thank you!
      Wishing you a lovely end of your week ❀≼♥≽❀

      Elimina

I THANK YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND WORDS, SO PRECIOUS TO ME.