The Stinking Hellebore (Hellebore foetidus) is the first plant in the garden coming into flower as has been the case in previous years. It seems a bit harsh to call it stinking or foetid; the leaves have a musty smell if crushed, other than that it causes no offence.
 H. foetidus is widely available as a nursery grown plant (which is where mine came from) but the species can be found growing wild in scrub and woodland on limey soils. I sometimes see them growing alongside railway lines -even in London- and I suspect the limestone chippings used to lay tracks provides them with the calcium rich habitat they favour.
 The Green Hellebore (Hellebore viridis) is a close relative, also native to the UK though rarer. Lower growing and more compact the flowers are an even purer shade of green. A few years ago I came across an extensive colony in an ancient woodland in Kent: