Helleborus foetidus Yellow Wilgenbroek

Helleborus foetidus 'Yellow Wilgenbroek' is a particularly bright variety of Stinking Hellebore, with its chartreuse green flowers adorned with golden green bracts. It is distinguished by the golden colour of its young leaves, which later turn greener. This beautiful descendant of a particularly robust and adaptable species that brightens up our winter walks from North to South is a carefree perennial, to be adopted in all gardens inspired by nature.

Called Stinking Hellebore or Bear's Foot, Helleborus foetidus is native to western and central Europe, where it is often found in rocky, rather dry places, in undergrowth or in coppices, on limestone soil, or on the contrary in the sun on acid soils. All Hellebores belong to the Buttercup family. It is a perennial that does not live very long, from 4 to 9 years. The plant produces two flowerings, the first occurring around the age of 5 years (but sometimes already at 2 years). New shoots emerge from the stump the following year, and produce a second and final flowering which usually marks the death of the Hellebore. It can sometimes disappear after a single flowering, having taken care to self-seed.

'Yellow Wilgenbroek' is a rare cultivar derived from this species. It is an upright perennial at the beginning of flowering, gradually bending down. It reaches a height of 80cm (32in), or even 1m (3ft), at full flowering maturity. Its sturdy stems, 40cm (16in) tall, are devoid of leaves at the collar, but densely leafy below the inflorescence. This early flowering takes place from January to April. It takes the form of compound cymes of numerous small bell-shaped flowers, 1 to 3cm (0 to 1in) in diameter. These flowers are inclined to protect themselves from bad weather. They are pale green in colour and have small light green bracts tinged with golden yellow. They have numerous stamens in their centre, larger than the petals, inserted in a spiral like all Buttercups. Following the flowering, visited by flies, bees and bumblebees, the Stinking Hellebore produces dry fruits releasing several seeds. These seeds were used in the Middle Ages for their supposed purgative virtue to treat madness.

The young leaves and stems of this variety are initially golden yellow, then gradually turn medium green and finally dark green in winter. The leaves, 15 to 25cm (6 to 10in) long, are divided into 7 to 10 narrow, lanceolate lobes. They are arranged horizontally around the stem and persist more or less in winter.

The Stinking Hellebore 'Yellow Wilgenbroek' finds its place in partly shaded beds and rockeries, along with other beautiful winter plants such as the bloodtwig dogwood, sedges, its Corsican cousins the hellebores, niger, orientalis, early botanical crocuses and narcissi, butcher's broom or liverworts.