Judith Knott Tyler

INTERESTED IN HELLEBORES? The Tylers are availible for presentations see

http://www.pineknotfarms.com/presentations.html

My husband Dick and I live and garden in the stony soil of the Southside Virginia Piedmont. We have a woodland garden, a meadow garden and various other beds and borders that tie our 10 acres together in a somewhat haphazard manner. There was no thought of design given to the garden; plants are stuck into the soil wherever there is a bit of ground without too many rocks, which will permit shovel access. I began planting bulbs while the two of us were building the house, using a claw hammer to pry out a clump of soil. Many of those bulbs are still blooming today.

I have been a fascinated by the miracles contained in seeds since my first grade teacher showed us how a bean sprouted and became a plant. When I imagine the almost unlimited potential for beauty enclosed in a small brownish morsel I get excited all these many years later. I suppose this is one of the reasons I became a hellebore breeder. Each year as I carry pollen from one plant to another I try to hold in my mind an idea of what I am trying to create but there are so many possible options! Two or three years later when I see the first flower from one of my crosses there are combinations, which never entered my mind. Mother Nature creates magic.