The magic vibes of sweet hellebores

November 21, 2023

The magic vibes of sweet hellebores

What is it about this flower that we love so much? …its fragility, the fact that it reminds me of spring, the small and cute flowers and the incredible variety in shape and colors… I think all of the above.

I had the chance this year to make “helleborus orientalis” a couple of times and I spent many days working on these blooms, trying to create all the anatomical details of this flower. Also called Lenten or Christmas rose, the inspiration for my paper hellebores journey was a mix of the Helleborus niger and the delicate Ivory Prince variety.

I was surprised to discover that what seem to be the petals are actually the flowers sepals, always colorful and showy; the actual flower petals are modified into those small green tubular shapes next to the stamens, also called nectaries. The flower’s corona is for me, the most charming part of the flower with many stamens… actually, making all these tiny delicate stamens from paper is the most difficult part of the creative process and it really tests my patience.

After the flower matures, all the stamens fall, the sepals become green and the pistil with the carpels (ovary) becomes visible. I tried to capture this evolution throughout my photos and you will discover a name tag for each flower element.

I used the extra fine Italian crepe paper to make the beautiful delicate sepals. I laminated the paper and color it, mostly with delicate tones of creamy white, adding a greenish tint for the first variety and some light dusty pink tones, for the second flower bunch.

The blooming evolution, from buds to the creamy white blossomed flower with a crown inside, up to the matured flower with only the sepals and carpels to show is what fascinates me the most and I hope these photos will inspire you to create your own hellebores.