Thursday, March 19, 2009

This is Your Life

This is your host Ralph Edwards speaking, live from Hollywood Theatre. We've had a secret camera standing by, waiting to capture this special occassion. We're here to celebrate one of the greatest moments in the March garden.

Your good friend Garden Girl remembers you from way back last April when you first came to live with her, and she conspired with us to make this day possible. In one fateful moment both your lives were changed as she chose you out of all the hellebores in the nursery. She cared for you lovingly as you put down roots in her garden.

And now, we have a wonderful surprise. Millions from coast to coast are gathered live with us today. Ms. Hellebore Bloom, THIS is your life!
Sunday, March 15th: Bloom Day morning dawned frosty and cold. The world could see you were ready to pop. You knew your time to shine was coming soon. As word went out you were about to bloom, the internets watched in anticipation. They noticed another happy surprise, your sibling, Bud. Come on out Bud, the world is waiting to meet you!

Monday, March 16th was a milder day. Just look how far you've come! As you begin to open, anticipation builds. You've already brought so much pleasure. Millions are waiting for your beauty to unfold.

Tuesday dawned sunny and mild. Although the Garden Girl was busy with her class, you weren't far away in her thoughts. She knew on such a beautiful day you might decide to bloom.

Such a humble thing, you open your petals without fanfare, gazing down with gratitude at the soil that sustains you. Your unassuming beauty is tonic for a troubled world. If you're anything like the blooms that came before you last spring, you'll stick around until fall, making the world a better and more beautiful place.

So Ms. Hellebore Bloom, this is your life! Soon other hellebores will join you, but you'll always be the first. May you sprinkle your beautiful offspring throughout the garden to bloom for posterity. May you live long and prosper, bringing beauty and happiness for years to come.


24 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:14 AM

    Hi Linda, this was one of my favorite shows, and you have made it a joy to relive with the presentation of Hellebore. I especially liked the introduction of Bud! Brilliant!!!
    Frances

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  2. Linda ! How nice is this way to start show casing your Hellebore : )
    I love the idea .. very creative and she is a beauty ! : )

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  3. LOL, what a nice way to celebrate your hellebore! I, too, hope to get one this spring and will be able to enjoy its blooms NEXT March. I love the color of yours--what is the cultivar? And how's MG class going? How many sessions is it?

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  4. Hi Linda,
    Every opening flower should get such an introduction. We love them all so much don't we? Those hellebores are fascinating to see in northern gardens. I'm especially amazed at blooms that enjoy the cold climates and need it(I guess?) in order to bloom.

    Beautiful color in this one too.
    Meems @ Hoe and Shovel

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  5. I could actually hear Ralph Edwards' voice in my head while reading your post!

    I love that color! I'm definately planning on adding a hellebore to my garden.

    I also wanted to let you know that I got the seeds yesterday. And the coincidence with our husbands names? Would you believe that my Father and BOTH of my Grandfathers also had that name????

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  6. Good morning Frances, glad you enjoyed the trip down memory lane! I'm glad it was This is Your Life instead of Truth or Consequences!

    Thank you Joy - so glad you enjoyed the show today!

    Hi Monica, glad you got a morning chuckle! This one is Helleborus 'Brushstrokes Strain.' This strain includes multiple (unlabeled) colors, so it needs to be purchased in bloom if you want to assure getting a particular color. They come in pinks, purples, yellows, and greens.

    I think the class is 12 weeks long, ends at the end of April with an orientation at the office and a trip to Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens a few miles north of us.

    Good morning Meems, I couldn't agree more! I've wanted to add hellebores to the garden since I moved here, but had read they needed moist soil. After seeing how they were thriving in other dry-shade gardens I decided to take a gamble, and was thrilled to see it sprouting new growth when I cut it back a couple of weeks ago.

    Hi Laura, I was honored Ralph decided to make this special appearance! I'm totally smitten by hellebores, and looking forward to adding more of them this spring.

    I'm glad you got your seeds. Wow, that IS a coincidence! Must have been fate! My husband's middle name is the same as my first (and beloved) dog's name! ;) Some of our coincidences - when we met we were driving the same make, model and color car, and we both had labs - his was chocolate, mine's actually a mix, but close enough!

    We also both have daughters only. Our girls are around the same age, and his youngest's first name is the same as my youngest's middle name.

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  7. What a coming out for Ms. Hellebore! Always the first and most revered and remembered. Lovely show Linda.

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  8. Ms. Hellebore certainly deserves all this fanfare! How exciting to see her first bloom. Like Monica, I have ordered some, and while they probably won't bloom this spring, I'll be waiting with similar anticipation next March. I remember lots of hugs and tears on "This is Your Life"--did you shed a few, too?:)

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  9. Good morning Tina, glad you enjoyed the show! Seemed like she deserved some fanfare being not only the first hellebore, but the first bloom of any kind in our garden this spring!

    Hi Rose, my sentiments exactly!

    Maybe you'll be lucky and at least one of yours will arrive budding or blooming. This one had three blooms last year, but I don't count them since she arrived already blooming.

    No tears were shed in the making of this production, but plenty of joy all the same!

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  10. What fun! So many hellebores in the blosphere gardens. I am going to have to get some!

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  11. Hi Pat, thank you for joining the fun!

    I have only one warning about hellebores: they are very addictive. ;)

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  12. Very nice! Still waiting on mine.

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  13. Linda, How clever and so perfect...They are dramatic plants and the show starts from their bud and continues through flower and on and on. An actor that never retires; never really leaves the stage...A delightful read and the photos are wonderful...gail

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  14. Wow, that flower is a stunner! I love the color and the pattern of it. I'm guessing it was worth all the waiting.

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  15. Hi Kim & Victoria, worth waiting for aren't they!

    Thank you Gail - so glad you enjoyed the show!

    Hi MMD, I'm glad they were blooming when I was choosing! The yellows and the greens of this 'Brushstrokes Strain' are really pretty too, but this one to me was more dramatic than the other colors. It was worth waiting for, especially considering it was the shortest wait for a bloom in this garden since I've been here. Nothing else will be blooming here until next month.

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  16. She is very pretty. I loved your post :)

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  17. I bought my first hellebore a few months ago. I'd been hearing you gals sing their praises. Has yet to bloom. But I can't wait. Yours is beautiful. Can't believe I went so long without having one or even knowing about them!
    Brenda

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  18. Thank you Catherine! It was fun doing it!

    Hi Brenda, I hope your new hellebore will bloom for you soon!

    I've always known of them as lenten roses or Christmas roses. I always thought they were pretty and thought I'd get one, there were just so many other plants on the list. Now hellebores are at the top of my list!

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  19. Anonymous9:56 PM

    What a clever way to introduce us to your first bloom of the season from Ms. Hellebore! I use to love that show. ;)

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  20. A delightful show, Linda ... Ms. Hellebore Bloom is a beauty. Happy Spring :)

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  21. Thank you Racquel! It was fun taking that trip down memory lane!

    Thank you Joey - glad you enjoyed it! Happy Spring to you! It's finally here! (now if the weather would just cooperate!:)

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  22. Linda, what a fun and creative way to present your lovely hellebore to the world :) And she truly is a beauty!
    I have serious hellebore envy!

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  23. Hi Linda,
    ...a clever way to feature lovely hellebore. I have never seen this variety...she's gorgeous!

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  24. Thank you Kerri! There's only one cure I know of for hellebore envy. . . ;)

    Hi Jan, thank you! I don't know why 'This is Your Life popped into my head, but I decided to go with it!

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