Oh, the lovely captivating simplicity of a clematis bloom. How can anyone resist this elegant yet tough vine growing up a trellis, embracing a climbing rose, or meandering through small trees, shrubs or perennials in your garden. This versatile vine can even be grown in containers, given routine care and choosing the right variety. And to top things off, if you cut their flowers for indoor arrangements they will last for days. Of course, with so many beautiful clematis to choose from, I’m sure any gardener would likely be able to find the right one(s) to grow in their garden.
Well, I certainly couldn’t resist this ‘Queen’ of vines. Hence, I have once again embarked on another plant obsession, adding already to my rose, conifer and Japanese Maple one. These last couple of years I’ve planted more than 50 clematis (the majority I got from Dan Long, at Brushwood Nursery) and somethings tells me I’ll be adding more of these beautiful charming vines to my garden in the future.
Naturally, since I already have several vertical elements in my garden, clematis seemed an obvious plant choice for me to explore—here’s a peak of a few of them….
One of the most stunning and largest of the viticellas is Clematis viticella ‘Venosa Violacea‘. Very dramatic in my garden with its contrasting purple-violet and white flowers. Lovely!
Clematis integrifolia ‘Rooguchi‘ has captured my heart…. lovely ink blue flowers shaped like a hanging bell.
Wow! Clematis ‘Crystal Fountain‘ is blooming beautifully in my garden right now.
The flowers are spectacular- 4 to 5 inches wide with a frilly center (resembling a fountain-like spray) against its rich lavender blue star shaped flowers.
Blooms May-September in my Zone 7b garden.
Large flowered Clematis ‘Ruutel’ has simply shaped red flowers that blend well with my autumn ferns.
Clematis texensis ‘Princess Diana‘ has stunning deep redish pink flowers.
The exquisite tulip-shaped flowers are a fine tribute to the late princess.
The striking combination of Clematis ‘Victoria’ and C. vitcella ‘Etoile Violette‘ climbing up one of my many large pine trees…makes for a nice camouflage don’t you think?
Beautiful massive 8 inch bicolor blooms on a relatively new variety-Vancouver Starry Nights Clematis. I have Starry Nights growing in a large container that’s placed next to a trellis.
Growing up my stone arbor is C. viticella ‘Etoile Violette’ elegantly accompanied by the nodding blooms of Hybrid Tea rose ‘Grande Dame’.
In all honesty, I’ve just begun my journey with growing clematis so I will confess that I’m no expert. I just plant them in good amended soil, give them reasonable moisture, a good organic fertilizer and shade their roots and they are pretty happy. At least that’s what works for me in my Zone 7b garden.
For more information on selecting and growing clematis check out these links:
http://www.clematisinternational.com/index.html