In her despair she wandered throughout the countryside looking for some
seasonal flowers to present to the infant; the winter had been very bitter and there were no flowers to be seen. Disheartened by this, the young Madelon began to sob. As the Christmas rose story goes it just so happened that there was an angel passing over her and she stopped to give comfort and struck the ground hard where her tears had landed. Suddenly a beautiful bush sprang through the ground and bloomed white roses. The angel told her to offer the Christ Child the pure Christmas Roses. Madelon went on her way bearing the gift of her heart and tears. This is known as the legend Christmas rose, a story of a young girl wanting to present a gift to an infant.
This
Christmas rose is an evergreen plant from Europe which has white or purplish rose like flowers that are winter blooming. In the United States the poinsettia winter plants have become the most favored Christmas flowers, Germany and other European countries, use the image of the Christmas rose most often with evergreen branches for decorating. These symbols can also be found on wrapping paper, Christmas cards, and table linens.
While a variety of plants over time have come to be called "Christmas rose" or Lenten rose, they all are suffused with a legend that dates back centuries.
Helleborus Niger is the botanical name for
Christmas rose more for its rose type flowers than for the trustworthiness of being seen blooming at Christmas time. While these winter plants are hardy in some areas they can bloom from December through to April resting on the weather conditions. The luxuriant flowers are usually white, with a tinge of green in the center that will age to pink. There may even be some seen with vivid pink tones in their petals.
H. Niger (White Magic) has white flowers that will age with a pink blush.
Hellebores are upper-class of winter and spring gardens. Their saucer shaped flowers embellish the stems when a few of the plants endure the elements. Their foliage is quite durable and eye pleasing all through the summer. The flowers are made up of five petallike sepals that are encircled by leafy bracts at the base of the flower. They will need a good well-drained soil that has plenty of humus and they need partial shade. If the temperature falls beneath 15 degrees F, their blooming cycle is stalled until warmer weather appears.
A nice hybrid with the Lenten rose,
H. x nigercors is noted for its thick stems crowned with creamy white to soft green flowers.
H. x sternii ranks first with its stiff, mottled foliage and its spreading soft green to creamy rose flowers. The
H. foetidus, or stinking hellebore, has spidery leaves and tube like, nodding green flowers that have a reddish-brown edge.
H. odorus is a must have for aficionado
gardeners. These
winter flowers with their glowing green flowers will vary in their fragrance between sweet to a bit musty.
