From their resistance to deep snow and hard frosts, to long-flowering habits, hellebores are quietly spectacular plants that earn their keep in pots, borders and shady corners.

This week we’re diving into one of the true stars of the winter garden, focusing on the new varieties that bring a renewed perspective on one of the winter garden’s most generous providers, and how to keep them looking their best in the garden or in a vase.

In this episode, discover:

• How to choose hellebore varieties for pots, borders and different garden conditions, from shade to full sun with Corsican types
• The best new and classic hellebores for long winter colour, including Maestro, Merlin, Strawberry Moon, Bijou and the Pretty Ellen series
• How to cut, condition and arrange hellebores so they stand proud in a vase for two weeks
• Practical ways to prevent and deal with pests and diseases like aphids, mice damage, leaf miner and black spot
• Tips on soil, compost, potting and feeding so hellebores thrive as long-lived, reliable perennials

Products mentioned:

Helleborus niger

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-niger

Helleborus argutifolius

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-argutifolius

Helleborus x ballardiae 'Merlin'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-x-ballardiae-merlin

Helleborus x 'Bijoux'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-bijoux

Helleborus x 'Guess'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-guess

Helleborus orientalis 'Pretty Ellen Red'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-pretty-ellen-red

Helleborus orientalis 'Pretty Ellen Spotted'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helleborus-orientalis-pretty-ellen-spotted

Follow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravenperchhill/

Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeu
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravensgarden/
Order Sarah’s latest books: https://www.sarahraven.com/gifts/gardening-books?sort=newest

March 2026 marks the release of perhaps Sarah’s most personal book to date, drawing from childhood love, family influence, and the evolution of one’s own gardening tastes.

In this week’s ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ Milli Proust joins us to discuss Sarah's new book, ‘A Year of Cut Flowers’, blending the memoir and the method to trace her family’s historic love of flora, and how it drew Sarah into the world of cut flowers.

In this episode, discover:

• How childhood wildflower hunts with Sarah’s father and her life with Adam shaped her lifetime love of cut flowers
• How even a small, carefully planned patch of cut flowers can fill your home with abundant, seasonal blooms
• The surprisingly powerful impact of spacing and pinching on plant health, vase life and stem production
• Why gardening, and especially growing for the vase, can become such a life‑enhancing practice which evolves with you

Products mentioned:

Abelia x grandiflora

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/abelia-x-grandiflora

Cerinthe major 'Purpurascens'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/cerinthe-major-purpurascens

Euphorbia oblongata

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/euphorbia-oblongata

Salvia viridis 'Blue Monday'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/salvia-viridis-blue

Helianthus annuus 'ProCut Plum' (Sunflower)

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/helianthus-annuus-procut-plum

Ammi majus

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/ammi-majus

Phlox drummondii 'Blushing Bride'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/phlox-drummondii-blushing-bride

Follow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravenperchhill/

Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeu
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravensgarden/
Order Sarah’s latest books: https://www.sarahraven.com/gifts/gardening-books?sort=newest

The dream garden of low‑maintenance abundance is all about picking the plants that need hardly any input, just the lightest touch of editing, and they’ll give you months of shifting colour.

In the third episode in this theme with Arthur, we dive into the self-seeding annuals and biennials that bring abundant colour to the garden with very little effort.

From forget-me-nots and violas to cerinthe, cosmos and quaking grasses, they share their favourite ‘volunteer’ plants, how to manage them, and simple ways to use them in borders and cut-flower arrangements for a truly low-maintenance, flower-filled garden.

In this episode, discover:

• How to use self-seeding annuals and biennials to create a low‑maintenance, flower‑filled garden that largely looks after itself
• Inspired plant recommendations, from forget‑me‑nots and violas, to grasses, nasturtiums and Californian poppies
• Practical tips on managing self‑sowers - when to let them run, and when to thin them out
• Ways to weave self‑seeders into borders, pots and even cracks in paving for long‑season colour, movement and structure

Products mentioned:

Cerinthe major 'Kiwi Blue'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/cerinthe-major-kiwi-blue

Heart's Ease (Viola tricolor)

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/viola-heartsease

Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/anthriscus-sylvestris-ravenswing

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Dazzler'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/cosmos-bipinnatus-dazzler

Ammi majus

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/ammi-majus

Panicum miliaceum 'Violaceum'

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/panicum-violaceum

Briza maxima (Greater Quaking Grass)

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/briza-maxima-greater-quaking-grass

Nicandra physalodes

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/nicandra-physalodes

Persicaria orientalis

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/persicaria-orientalis

Nasturtium 'Ladybird Rose' (Tropaeolum minus)

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/nasturtium-ladybird-rose

Nasturtium 'Bloody Mary' (Tropaeolum minus)

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/nasturtium-bloody-mary

Follow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravenperchhill/

Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeu
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravensgarden/
Order Sarah’s latest books: https://www.sarahraven.com/gifts/gardening-books?sort=newest