Every year, a white flower comes up in early spring.

My grandmother brought this plant from Germany more than sixty years ago. My father divided it and grew his own. I did the same. What’s in my garden now is part of that original plant, passed down.

It’s a hellebore, likely Helleborus niger. It blooms early, sometimes when it’s still cold. It doesn’t need much and comes back every year.

No one planned this as a tradition. It just continued.