Brand new to hellebores and I have a few questions. I planted a hellebores orientalis in a protected area early last spring, and it bloomed wonderfully. After a few months, the entire plant died down (do they go dormant in the summer?) Now, I have a few seedlings showing. I don't know if it reseeded, or if the roots were still alive, but I'm worried about these tiny seedlings, with our average first frost less than a month away.

How can I best protect them?