Winter and early spring really doesn’t have to be a barren time for colour in gardens, especially were hellebores are concerned. Shades of these plants include white, claret, peach, pink, green, black, dusky grape, slate grey, bi-colours and yellow. Most colours are available plain or spotted. Pink, white, green and primrose are also available with maroon blotches.

The earliest hellebores can be out in November and the latest will flower into April.

Hellebore grower and expert, Jill Pearce, of award-winning Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands, famed for its Ashwood Garden Hybrids, says that the hybrids are perfect for beginners.

“Hellebores are very tolerant of most conditions and thrive in well-drained, humus-rich ground as long as it’s not waterlogged,” she says.

“Some of the hybrids are very tolerant of full sun and partial shade and the Ashwood Garden Hybrids come in all colours, singles, doubles and anemone-centred types.”

Grow them in the herbaceous border or a winter border under shrubs, under hamamelis (witch hazel), which is twiggy in winter, or in a mixed border. If the leaves look tatty during the flowering period, just take them off to expose the bloom in its full glory.

Hellebores are ideally placed on a slope, where they have moist but well-drained soil and the visitor can look into the hanging flower from their standpoint below.

“Hellebores also look lovely with snowdrops and tête-a-tête daffodils, or with anything that has winter structure, such as the coloured stems of dogwoods or other twiggy structural shrubs,” Jill says.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on plants for a good show, she adds.

“If you have a small garden, just one plant will be quite big after two years, reaching a spread of around one-and-a-half feet (45cm). In larger beds, you may choose to plant three to five hellebores for a big impact.”

Hellebores are greedy feeders and so add plenty of organic matter before planting and then mulch with compost twice a year around the planting area but not directly on to the crown of the plant.

“Some people also liquid feed them during the growing season which probably gives you a better show of flowers,” says Jill.

More experienced gardeners may try out the more challenging species, such as H. x sternii, grown primarily for its foliage, which has greyish-green marbled and more spiky leaves, although it does produce insignificant flowers. A slightly tender plant, it is best in a sheltered, sunny, well-drained position and tends to do well under the canopy of a needle conifer such as pine or cedar.