Wow, there’s a name that brings back memories. Happy Days! If you don’t recall, Pinky was a gorgeous red head that wore pink, rode a pink motorcycle (and jumped over Shriners on it), and drove a pink demolition derby car. She was also Fonzie’s sweetheart. Featured in a few brief episodes, she was a name that I’ll always remember. She was tough, she was spunky, and she was cool.
She had a little sister that appeared a few later episodes, Leather Tuscadero. She played bass guitar and sang.
A pretty cool pair of TV-land sisters, if I say so myself.
Last night I stopped at a local nursery looking for a “Lenten Rose”. This plant is also known as a Christmas Rose , or by the botanical name of Hellebore. This plant is not a rose by any means, but it does bloom in the winter. Being hardy to -30F (yes, that minus sign is intentional), winter blooming and animals leave it alone, it seems a great addition to the dreary winter landscape. They come in many colors, but the only one available had pale pink/light green five petal flowers; all the foliage is a dark shiny green. Mine is a color they call Rosemary, which seems entirely incongruous for the coloration, but that is just my opinion.
![]() |
Hellebore, Rosemary coloration |
It is also in excellent company as an extremely toxic plant; classed as heart poison, extremely hazardous. This darling is not joking around. Hellebrin is the active component in the plant. It seems ok to touch it, but you definitely do not want to eat this one. Symptoms of ingestion include such fun like colic, exhaustion, excessive GI tract distress, paralysis and various heart problems; death by respiratory distress. Modern physicians do actually use some of the hellebrin components for medicinal reasons.
Many plants in this world are not for human use or consumption. Just because it came from Mother Earth do not mean it is your friend. Be aware what you keep in your house and yard. You’d best be every bit as concerned about your plants as you are about chemical cleaners. Hellebore is poison; this is why animals leave it alone. I have a cat, Voodoo, that likes to tempt fate and chews on any lily flowers in a vase…then I get to clean up vomit. This is why we have no plants in the house.
Unfortunately, the nursery worker had no idea about the toxicity of this species.
Currently, my lovely pink hellebore is residing in my bathtub. I don’t quite know where to keep her yet; away from the cat, and away from my curious stallion. He tries to eat hamburgers, for crying out loud.
I’ve decided my plant is a “she”, and I’ve picked out her name. Pinky Tuscadero. Tough, pretty, and if you mess with her, you won’t like it.