I wish this had been posted a few weeks ago. I just gave away several lenten rose roots (healthy ones at that) from my flower bed. I had a huge bed of roots about 6 ft X 4ft that I split up.

Dora

Georgia Rose, you might ask Mary Wenger (mwenger@charter.net). She sells hellebores in Gainesville and has an interest in new and less common varieties.

I'll bet you already know this, but if you can wait until spring and don't mind driving over to the Athens area (Bishop), probably the biggest supplier of Hellebores in the country is located there. It's Piccadilly (sp?) Farms and they have been growing and shipping Hellebores for probably over 25 years. They have Hellebores Days in the spring when they open their normally wholesale location to the public. It's gorgeous! They have acres of woods just covered with all kinds and sizes of Hellebores and other goodies for sale. You can also walk the paths of their gardens (it's located on their farm) and see loads of connifers and camelias and other shade lovers.

Thanks for the references.
I will check them out.
I may check with some of the local nurseries after New Year's, since Hellebores should be in bloom at that time.
It's difficult for vendors to sell flowering plants that have no blooms, so they don't stock them until the flowers appear. Most gardeners want to see the colors, before buying. Also, the market for winter blooming perennials is extremely small, compared to the other seasons.
Unlike most of my friends, I try to have flowers in the garden during the entire year.
My fall blooming bulb performance was dismal this year, due to 2 years of drought, I suppose and I had to resort to planting a lot of Pansies and some Mums to fill the void. Haven't planted Pansies for several years and my first attempt with Mums!

Georgia-Rose, have you looked online at BigDipperFarm.com? They have what looks to be a good selection of hellebores, although i do not see listed the ones you name above.

I've been wanting to plant a hellebore bed for a while now and had looked at Big Dipper's corsican and foetidus varieties. How does their selection compare with the other places you looked online? They get good ratings at Dave's Garden.

Nancybea, thanks for the info on Picadilly Farms, that sounds wonderful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Dipper Farm

mayland-
Yes, Big Dipper Farms was my first selection, when I began searching. I have purchased Helleborus from them previously and was satisfied with the quality, although they were small plants. (4" pots), but most bloomed the following year.
There seems to be only 2 wholesale nurseries that are propagating the Helleborus that I am seeking (origin-Germany, Hellebore Gold Collection) and they sell primarily to store front nurseries (local). One sells 4" pots and the other one, gals. only.
The few online sellers that have some of them, are just "turning" them around, at a 350-700% markup!
I could order from the wholesalers, but their minimum order quanity is waay too many for my crowded garden! I prefer variety, rather than mass plantings of one type/color.
I would avoid the varigated or silver leaf form of the Corsican (H. argutifolius) Helleborus. They do not perform well(if they survive!) here in the SE. Reportedly, they don't perform that well anywhere in this country.
The Stinking Hellebore (H. foetidus) is a short lived perennial in my garden and is reborn from previous years seed. If you decide to try those, be sure to add some lime to the planting area, since they prefer alkaline soil and a fair amount of sun. My experience has been that, they do OK in slightly acidic soil, but struggle in soil with a pH lower than 6.0 - 6.5 range.
Try a number of species and colors in your planting. With the use of tissue culture, the double-flowered ones have become more reasonably priced now. I grow 11 species and many different hybrids and seed strains (often sold with cultivar names, which they are not).
Good luck!

Georgia-Rose,
Thank so much for the great tips. I had both a silver-leaved H. argutifolius and H. foetidus on my wish-list. I will definitely drop the silver-leaved one (what a shame it doesnt do well, it looks really striking!). Maybe I'll hold out until Picadilly Farms has its hellebore day rather than ordering online, that sounds great.

I hope you find the hellebores you are looking for. Is it your garden that has the 100s of hydrangeas?

You may want to call Ladyslipper Rare Plant Nursery and see what they have. They usually have a large selection of shade plants.

Ladyslipper Rare Plant Nursery
7418 Hickory Flat Hwy, Woodstock, GA 30188
Phone: (770) 345-2998

You might could email here.
I saw some online that you want but costly.

Here is a link that might be useful: hellebores

cactusfreak-
I attempted to order some Helleborus from "Slick" Glick (Sunshine Farms) a few years ago.
Placed a phone order with "Slick" for about $100 in Hellebores. He promised to ship the following day. After waiting 2 weeks for them to arrive, I called back to inquire about the status.
"Slick said he didn't have the one's I ordered, he had sold them to someone else, but he had some others that he could substitute, at a slightly higher price. When I inquired at what price, it was twice my original order.
I can't tell you what I told the louse that he could do with his Hellebores!
When I told some of my friends in the Hort business about the experience, they said I should have checked with them before calling "Slick".
Seems to be an all too common experience that he seldom delivers what he promises. I should have been alerted, since he lists no prices or availibility on his website.
Never again!