Few shade plants have the stature of a mature hellebore, which may spread to about three feet across and stand nearly nearly two feet tall. The deep green, sawtooth-edged pinwheels of leaves somewhat resemble peony foliage. A hailstorm will punch holes in the hostas but can't hurt the leathery hellebore leaves. Ten years ago, hellebores were strictly connoisseurs' plants, with a reputation for flowers so shy they seemed to shrug into bloom, huddled together against an uncertain spring. Now they're the moody darlings of the perennial plant world.
Hellebores are members of the buttercup family, which includes ranunculuses and columbines.
There are about 20 species, native to Europe and Asia, but only a handful of species and varieties are common in gardens. The cupped flowers of Christmas rose are white or very pale green, sometimes with a pink blush. They are the earliest-blooming of the hellebores, and tend to hide their flowers among their evergreen foliage. H. orientalis, known as the Lenten rose, comes from northern Turkey. It was being grown in England by the 17th century, but the demand for shade plants with nearly black flowers was not overwhelming at the time, and it remained relatively obscure until the late 1800's.