Yes - ferns go well with hellebores but as you guessed you need to check they are species which can cope with the dryness. I have Asplenium scolopendrium, Hart's-tongue Fern which is a native evergreen fern and grows a lot in my area. I also have Dryopteris filix-mas, Male fern, and Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)also both natives. The picture shows hardy Cyclamen and the fern Polystichum setiferum, also evergreen in my climate, with Hellebore stems on the right. You can see they all grow well in dry shade under a Medlar (trunk visible at left).

I would be most interested in all of those seeds. Please look over my list, I have many commercial as well as a number of named seeds harvested from my garden last year. Please choose as many as you like, the seeds you are offering are well worth it. Thank you, Les Here is a link that might be useful: Tradelist

The suggestion of Pine Knot is a very good one. If you can, you should go down for their open house festival as it is a great show. Only a short trip from your location. Its in Virginia just north of NC border but you have to get there from the NC side. My nicest double (a lavendar pink) and my best 2 yellows came from there on one of my trips down. My best black (they are really a smoky overlay very dark purple) with gorgeous dark new foliage and my best white double were from seed ordered from Elizabethtown hellebores several years back. There is a Tissue Culture black available (got one of them from Pine Knot 2 years ago) but I don't think its quite as good as some of my others.

Cynically, I would say they're selling off the rubbish that didn't get bought this year, so they don't have the hassle of taking it through the winter and run the risk of not selling them again next year. Trick with Orientalis hybrids or H. hybridus as they now are, is either to see them in flower before you buy or get them from a known parentage crossing. The "strain" comment, usually means open crossed seed from a group of plants. Often this means a spotted muddy pink! Of course I'm sure that people will correct me, but as I am from the other side of the pond, I don't know either of these strains, they may be very good. If they have been grown from hand pollinated(HP) seed of known parentage then there is a very good chance that it is a good strain that they are trying to keep.....however, if they flowered this year you have to ask why someone didn't buy them already. We have growers here who do not sell a plant until they have seen it bloom, they are growing from HP seed and are looking for something special. They then grade their plants, top they may keep for themselves for ongoing breeding or sell for $40 or so, second, will sell for $25 or so, third for $15, then the rest gets put in the "Sale". However if they're cheap and you just want to get started, it's a good way of saving yourself a 3 years from seed situation. They all make good garden plants, and once you've grown them you'll get addicted, so good luck, I'll leave it to others who know these strains to comment on which is best...Have you seen pictures? Cheers Greenmanplants