It may save confusion to consider some colour arrangements of our garden plants according to their seasons. It is usual that the earliest flowers to appear are the Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) and the Christmas Roses, varieties of Helleborus niger. Though they bloom nearly at the same time, it is better to treat them separately. The little Winter Aconite is best planted under some deciduous tree in thin woodland, when this comes near the garden; perhaps �for preference under the outer branches of a Beech, as the yellow blooms and the carpet of rusty leaves come so well together. Christmas Roses enjoy a cool place in rich loam where they are never droughted; a quiet dell of their own in a Fern garden is a good place. They look well in a setting of some winter green Fern, such as Polypody or Hart�s-tongue, whose foliage colour is a little more lively than that of their own.
