Anemone Centred Betty Ranicar Double Dark Purple Double Green Double Maroon Edged Double Pink Double Pink Freckled Double White Double White Spotted Double Yellow

White Hybrid Apricot Hybrid Dark Hybrid Claret Hybrids Blue Grey Hybrids Green Hybrid Green with Dark Nectaries Light Pink Pink Spotted Hybrid White Picotee Hybrid White Spotted Hybrid White Pink Veined Hybrid Yellow Hybrid Yellow Spotted Hybrid

Helleborus atrorubens Helleborus croaticus Helleborus cyclophyllus Helleborus dumetorum Helleborus foetidus 'Gold Bullion' Helleborus foetidus 'Sopron' Helleborus foetidus 'Wester Flisk' Helleborus niger 'Semi Double' Helleborus niger 'White Magic' Helleborus x sternii Helleborus x sternii 'Clifton' Helleborus viridis

Welcome to Clifton Homestead Nursery

Clifton Homestead Nursery is a small wholesale nursery, located in South Otago, 21 kilometres south of Balclutha and 10 kilometres north of Clinton. The nursery started back in 1988 when we put up a small tunnel house and began to grow Chatham Island "forget me nots".

Not long after we started growing the Chathams the opportunity to grow Helleborus niger 'White Magic' came up and we started propagating these to supply local and export markets. As the nursery grew in size, so did the range of plants we grew. For a number of years we had an extensive list of perennials for sale, but the hellebores were also becoming a more important part of our operation. Now,apadt from a few Trilliums we are growing solely hellebores.

We  grow 50,000 plants and have three large, purpose built shade-houses. The shade houses were designed specifically for growing hellebores.They are covered to keep out the rain, shaded, to control light and temperature and quite also high to enable us to keep the temperature down over the summer months. Having them covered does pose watering problems and we have installed capillary watering systems to negate the need for hand watering. We have recently (2007) added another shade-house. Originally a glasshouse in Balclutha, we relocated and retrofitted it using a  twin skin plastic roof. It has proved very successful and now houses all the seed plants.

The Telford Family

As well as running the nursery we farm 1240 acres running 3100 sheep, 100 beef cattle and have 350 -400 acres in wheat, barley and peas. Our children are growing up faster than we want!  Bryony now 3rd year at Otago University,studying genetics: Thomas in his now at Otago as well, doing Health Science, and Josh is in the year 10 at South Otago High School.

Helleborus Classification

Helleborus classification has been the subject of much debate over the years with differing opinions concerning   H.orientalis and its hybrids causing most of the problems.

For more details click here for our Classification Table