I should plant a few more hellebore plants later this year as they are proving invaluable for winter bouquets. However, before I do so, I must really start sowing for this year. I bought an awful lot of seeds for the flower project and some, like sweet peas, would be good to get in the greenhouse now. I don't (yet) have a heated greenhouse, but sweet peas do okay in a cold one, sown before the great rush in March. They do even fine from an autumn sowing, but as I didn't get around to doing so last October, it's got to be this week. Then I also need to go through all those packets and make sure I know what to sow when. No point in discovering in April that some seeds need a long germination time and should have been sown in February!

But before then, this week's bunch. Last Friday was busy, this weekend was busy, so I only got around to it today, Monday. I went to the allotment early this morning and I picked hellebores, both the short stemmed white (Helleborus Niger - the classical Christmas rose) and the long stemmed green variety (Helleborus Foetidus - stinking hellebore, but I don't think they stink!) as well as some grey leaves and Euphorbia Oblongata. The latter is a short-lived perennial, which is proving not short-lived at all as it self-sows along all the edges of my allotment. 

For foliage I picked the gray leaves of artichoke, sage and also some stems from the curry plant (Helichrysum Italicum). I planted the latter as a herb, but I have yet to find a culinary use for it, so maybe it'll prove useful for the vase instead. I just read that you can also dry the flowers which may be worth a try. 

Unfortunately the white hellebores of which I only have three have rather short stems, but I think they still looks great!