There is something very valuable in getting down on your knees and weeding or planting bulbs. Today when I was putting in some fall-blooming crocus, I noticed what I thought was a patch of clover right by a large clump of Helleborus x orientalis (Lenten Rose). On closer inspection, the “clover” turned out to be a clutch of hellebore seedlings. I was tempted to interfere with the seedlings, carefully digging them out and potting them up, but ultimately decided to leave them alone. I have grown hellebores for years and have had only occasional seedlings. Since the mature clumps increase in size over time, the lack of seedlings was never really a problem. Now, though, I am excited, as the tiny hellebores conceal infinite possibilities.
I’ll watch these hellebore “children” for a week or two and if they continue to thrive, I may thin them a bit to give the survivors some elbow room.
In some places, gardeners use hellbores as ground covers. I have never been rich enough to be so profligate, but now, with my colony of seedlings, I may get the chance.