Again this winter, I’ve scoured catalogs (websites) looking to add a few yellows, both hellebores and toad lilies (Tricyrtis). Why? I do not have any particular preference for it. No doubt, there are plenty of yellow blooms in the garden and perhaps an overabundance in gardens in general. But in both hellebores and toad lilies, yellows are the least available, a lacking reflected in the garden. So, of course, this is the color I must have.

I am perfectly satisfied with the many dozens of hellebores in the garden. There are dandy doubles and splendid speckles, as well as the darkest purples and mottled coloring that I find to be enchanting.

No more hellebores are required, but every addition to the garden is a whim, necessary only to please the gardener. So, several yellows are ordered, though each is likely to be past flowering upon arrival, and it’s likely that they will be youngsters at least a year off from their first flowers.

I’ll look forward to next year’s blooms, but today, I notice a single large yellow flower and a second bud just below the sunroom. This was a recent transplant. The deck that preceded the sunroom covered this space, and while I look forward to the new plantings filling the space, I’m quite pleased that the yellow flowered hellebore accidently ended up in this spot. I suppose this was ordered, possibly a year ago, and this is its first flower. It is impossible to keep track.