Clematis With Everything

An avid collector uses shrubs and perennials as living trellises for these flowering vines

Most clematis admirer say that it was the showy , large - bloom loanblend that first catch their eye . In my case , it was the small blue flowers ofClematis integrifoliathat I stumbled upon at a local baby’s room that got me hooked . This 15 - inch - marvelous delight was unlike any clematis I had come across . I did a little inquiry and soon found myself buying more and more clematis vines .

While the original plan for my garden was focused on trim blossom , including my favorite old garden roses , I could not conceive of a garden that did n’t include my newly - find clematis friends . I rapidly discovered that I could contain them into my plan not only to cover bare walls but , more important , to mingle with my roses and perennials and fill empty spaces with colour when my flowering shrubs fell out of efflorescence .

Over the last 10 years , my garden has expanded across my 50 - by-100 - human foot lot , and the lines between my cutting garden , recurrent border , spectre garden , and raise veg beds have become a bit blurry . I now trust on my collection of more than 200 multifariousness of clematis to knit it all together . Of course , blush wine and clematis are a classic pairing , but experiment with various shrubs and perennials has serve me to encounter other excellent partners for clematis .

Shrubby sidekicks make excellent comrades

If you ’re one of those gardener who does n’t care for roses ( I have try that there are such the great unwashed ) , there are many other spring- and summer - flower woody shrub that make first-class comrades for clematis . leap - blooming weigela ( Weigelaspp . and cvs . ) and lilacs ( Syringaspp . and cvs . ) are perfect foils for delicate other - spring - floweringClematis alpinacultivars andClematis macropetala . Weigela florida‘Variegata ’ , which has the bonus of leaf outline in a ointment color , is especially lovely later on in the spring when combine with amobarbital sodium - blossom , semi - viningClematis × durandii , which conk gracefully onto the bush without overwhelm it .

Many clematis thrive when located in fond or mottled tint . In a fishy orbit of my garden , the large - bloom hybrid ‘ Silver Moon ’ ( Clematis‘Silver Moon ’ ) romps around in a ‘ Merritt ’s Supreme ’ hydrangea ( Hydrangea macrophylla‘Merritt ’s Supreme ’ ) . The lower light level give by fond wraith preserve the soft - colored efflorescence of sure clematis cultivars , like the sick - lavender ‘ Silver Moon ’ and the pinkish pyjama - strip loan-blend ‘ Bees ’ Jubilee ’ ( Clematis‘Bees ’ Jubilee ’ ) , which tend to discolourise out in full sun .

Another preferent combination of mine is the delicate foliation of ‘ Sutherland Gold ’ European red elderberry ( Sambucus racemosa‘Sutherland Gold ’ ) and the periwinkle blossoms of ‘ Fuji - musume ’ ( Clematis‘Fuji - musume ’ ) . The tight - growing elderberry foliage turns green as it matures , so I crop it back throughout the grow season to palaver it into producing new golden foliage , which are sandbag next to the flowers of ‘ Fuji - musume ’ .

Clematis with roses: A classic

sure-enough garden rose wine have a limited color palette compared to modern roses , but their soft colors make a delectable confection when blended with the blues , purples , lavenders , and reds of the leaping - flower big - flower clematis . At left , a ‘ Peveril Pearl ’ clematis winds around the stems of a ‘ Reine des Violettes ’ rose . Most old garden rosiness bloom in May and June , so careful clematis survival will give a partner that not only blossom with the rosiness , but will also blossom again after in the summer , lending color where there is none .

Clematis is a perennial pal

Clematis vines that blossom on new growth , likeClematis‘Guiding Star ’ and herbaceous form likeClematis integrifolia , C. rectum , andC. heracleifolia , make good partners with a host of herbaceous perennials . These rambling plants will happily peek out from the flowers and foliage of their perennial neighbors . Although some gardener insist on staking these clematis plants upright , I like to let them do what they will .

In Taiwanese folk medicine , clematis leave-taking are blended with other dry out plants to make herbal teas to salve a painful pharynx . For that cause as well as aesthetic reasons , it seems innate to me to use clematis in the herbaceous plant garden . Clematis integrifoliawill lean languidly over lavenders ( Lavandulaspp . and cvs . ) , or make a nice contrast with culinary salvia ( Salvia officinalis ) , especially the variegate ‘ Icterina ’ or purpleness - leaf ‘ Purpurascens ’ .

Nipponese hybridizers have developed many all right shortClematis integrifoliacultivars , some of which are lightly fragrant , like the white - bloom ‘ Hakurei ’ . The large charismatic spicy - purple prime of ‘ Roguchi ’ are specter - tolerant enough to aptly wind their way through golden - leave hostas like ‘ August Moon ’ , giving my garden some pizzazz with the attractive aristocratical and yellow duo .

Large - flowered clematis loan-blend , with their longer period of bloom , can act like a bridge , link a succession of prime over a season . For instance , ‘ Monte Cassino ’ , a full-bodied red clematis , makes a worthy pardner with both yellow - blossom bush roses and perennial . In my garden , Father Hugo ’s uprise ( Rosa hugonis ) and ‘ Monte Cassino ’ put on a spectacular show in early to midspring . But after the rose fades , Jerusalem sage ( Phlomis russeliana ) pick up where the rose leave off , continuing the same pleasing twilight - red and soft - yellow coloration combining through the rest of the spring time of year .

Mixing small - flowered clematis hybrids with herbaceous perennial is where I really have some fun . Brightly colored cultivar like ‘ Gravetye ravisher ’ ( Clematis‘Gravetye Beauty ’ ) add together great presence to a combination when twin with an imposing flat ocean holly ( Eryngium planum ) . The crimson - violent flowers of ‘ Gravetye Beauty ’ seem to float above ocean holly ’s purple - patrician umbels from midsummer to fall .

With such a Brobdingnagian excerption of colouring , flower forms , and growth habits to opt from , it is salutary to proceed fearlessly when enclose clematis to your garden . Be guided by the prevailing soundness , but be a little irreverent , too , so your garden will be your own . Clematis can be dazzling when combined with most other blooming plants , and they are great fillers for areas with seasonal blahs . If you get sincerely strung-out , you may end up like me , trying clematis with everything .

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The right background lets clematis shine. The deep-blue blossoms ofClematis × durandiistand out against a ‘Variegata’ weigela.Photo/Illustration: Linda Beutler.

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The right background lets clematis shine. The deep-blue blossoms ofClematis × durandiistand out against a ‘Variegata’ weigela.Photo/Illustration: Linda Beutler.

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Herbaceous clematis species are the perfect companions for perennials in the border. The purple-blue flower spikes of lavender mirror the color of the delicate blossoms ofClematis integrifolia.