Checking just now, I see the first of the year's H. argutifolius is out. The sepals will hopefully last until July. These grow in more or less total shade - not dark, but no direct sun, under a hedge. They are healthy and have seeded all over the place, but they do tend to lean and almost fall over out of the sun. Unusually for hellebores, they can enjoy fun sun too. Very versatile in the garden. Very accomodating. And good for the bees.
I had H argutifolius before @Fire. Lots of nice apple green flowers but with heavy clay and no direct sunlight they grew tall and lanky and flopped about everywhere. I got tired of staking them — it’s also very hard to push stakes into the soil in my garden. As you said, I have the impression they would do best in full sun.
Ice breaker Max again (sorry), with carpels maturing on the the older blooms
One of my hellebores in my stumpery/fernery, I can’t remember what it’s called! But I’ve finally found a group of my plants that suit this difficult area of my garden … a dry shady bank under various trees, including a big oak tree. The hellebores seem to love it, ferns which were chosen for dry shade have done really well and the snowdrops and crocuses I planted from bulbs have flowered.
This is my newest one, it's called "Winter Moonbeam" and I planted it out yesterday on a wooded slope, where the flowers can be appreciated from below. The little splash of colour also looks good when viewing from the top of the slope.
Posts
An update on Ice ‘n’ Roses Red today
A further update on Ice ‘n’ Roses Red — the colour changes with the light and as the blooms age
Also saw a bee enjoying the flowers this morning