Not only can azalea and rhododendron be rather fussy plants, they are a favorite food of deer. Yet, so many gardening books promote these finicky deer treats as shade gardening essentials, leaving the neophyte gardener feeling like a hopeless failure with no alternatives when the deer devour his or her azaleas. Whether you are a beginning gardener, or more experienced, Made for the Shade has something to offer. The group of plants commonly called hellebores are members of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Nevertheless, throughout history they have commonly been referred to as Christmas rose and Lenten rose, as their flowers are somewhat similar to roses.
Hellebores are poisonous.
The Latin name Helleborus comes the Greek helleboros. In Greek helein means to kill, and bora means food. Deer must know Greek and Latin, because they virtually never eat hellebores. There are fifteen different species of hellebores. If the winter is very cold it will bloom later.