Joanna Gaines Just Shared Her Favorite Winter Flowers for Porch Planters

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By now, we all know that Joanna Gaines loves her plants. The Magnolia co-founder has a history of pressing flowers (her latest hobby), a long list of favorite houseplants, and she even built a personal herbarium in her backyard to keep record of the greenery she and her children find. From her giant fiddle leaf fig tree to her rare monstera lechleriana, it's safe to say that Gaines knows her stuff when it comes to the garden, both indoors and outdoors. Her latest share on her Instagram story has put yet another plant on our radar that Gaines says is perfect for porch planters and window boxes in the winter, but this one has a unique twist: it's a flower that blooms and thrives in the colder months.

The hellebore is a flowering plant that blooms in the winter, and it's Gaines's flower of choice for her outdoor garden displays. Flowers that bloom during this season have a similar vibe to ones that bloom only at night. They almost seem like they shouldn't exist because they're not what we're used to seeing, which makes them all the more special.

Even just from Gaines's post, you can see that the hellebore blooms in a variety of colors. The beautiful pink petals from one of her plants look almost too delicate for the cold, winter months, and the deep purple and green flowers of the other bring an ornamental kale look to the window boxes. Together they create an entirely different aesthetic to the outside of your home.

There are 15 different species in the Helleborus genus, meaning there are a lot more colors of the hellebore you can find and plant outside your home to bring rich greenery and gorgeous pops of color to your yard or porch. If you're intrigued by these resilient little flowers, keep reading for a complete guide on how to incorporate hellebores into your own plant collection.

What Are Hellebore Plants?

These perennial plants are also known as the Lenten rose due to the time they bloom—around late November to early May—which is partly around the Christian observation of Lent. The Portland Nursery describes the hellebore as low growing "with short-stemmed, often toothed, palmate foliage." They generally have five petals to create a bowl-shaped flower, however, there are some blooms with double the petals, making them appear more like roses. The petals "may be spotted or picoteed, referring to the narrow band of darker color found on the edge," explains the Portland Nursery, and the hellebore flowers can bloom in a wide variety of colors, like the pink, green, and maroon above but also apricot, yellow, blue, slate, and white.

The hellebore contains toxins poisonous to animals and humans, making the deer-resistant but also obviously harmful to your pets, so make sure they're not planted anywhere your furry friends might eat them.

When and Where to Plant Hellebores

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) suggests planting hellebores in the fall and while the plants are already fully grown so you can see the color of their blooms. It is possible to grow them from seeds, but hellebores are quite slow growers. As long as the ground isn't frozen, you can plant hellebores, but try to avoid doing so in the summer because the heat causes them to go dormant and this would likely stress them out.

Don't plant hellebores too deeply into the soil as this could hinder the growth of their flowers, according to Garden Design. The soil should be well-draining so there isn't an excess of water, but it also needs to be able to remain moist, so a shady spot is essential for hellebores to thrive.

How to Care for Hellebores

The hellebores plant should be watered once a week to keep the soil moist but not damp during the first year after planting, says BBG, but you can cut back during summer months since the plant is dormant. After the first year and every one after, you also need to give the plant an annual "haircut," as BBG puts it, to improve air circulation and to better highlight the blooms. Keep your hellebore healthy by annually laying down a layer of compost or manure on the soil. This should help them grow, spread, and keep coming back with beautiful blooms every year.

Thankfully, hellebores don't require the same green thumb that other, more finicky plants Besides the weekly watering, they really only need to be tended to once a year, and even those steps aren't too time consuming. We can definitely see why Joanna loves these for her windowsills.

Helleborus 'Apricot Blush'

Long Box Planter

Rectangular Window Box

Organic Potting Soil Mix

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