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Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

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May Dreams Gardens

My Clematis Phase

May 7, 2012 By Carol Michel 11 Comments

Clematis ‘Pagoda’

My Dear Dr. Hortfreud,

And so I find that I am rather inexplicably entering into a Clematis phase in my evolution as a gardener.

Mother Nature, with help from some enabling nurseries like the nearby Soules Garden, has put me in the enviable position of having eight new Clematis plants to put out in my garden

Truly, I thought I was safe going to Soules Garden, at least when it came to Clematis, because they are known more for their daylilies, hostas, and Arisaema, and many plants for fairy gardens. Though why I thought I was safe in a place that has so much for fairy gardens is laughable in hindsight.  But I left with just three new Clematis to plant in my garden and one wisteria, the native Wisteria macrostachya

Miss Jane Hortaway insists that I need to catalog these three new Clematis from Soules Garden, plus the three I purchased a few weeks ago at the IMA Hort Society’s plant sale and the two I’ve been overwintering, and learn more about each one before for I just plop them in the garden and move on to another phase in my evolution as a gardener.

I know some will need support, especially the C. tangutica and C. ‘Huldine’  Another one, C. heracleifolia is more shrub like and I can just plant it out in Plopper’s Field.

There is one that is tiny enough for rock gardens, C. columbiana var. tenuiloba  which I think for now I’ll plant it in a bed where I’m sure to keep an eye on it.  Another one, the native C. pitcheri,  I think can scramble through other plantings.   C. viticella ‘Venosa Violacea’ will definitely need support.   And C. ‘Lord Hershell’ only grows a foot tall, so I can plant it safely in several different locations.

Finally, I have C. integrifolia to plant. It should have the same growth pattern of my C. integrifolia ‘Alba’, which sprawls and blooms where I planted it in Plopper’s field.

C. integrifolia ‘Alba’

By mine own counting, the addition of these eight Clematis to my garden will just about double the number of Clematis in my garden, Dr. Hortfreud.  

And to think that growing up I thought of Clematis as just that big, garish Jackmanii that so many planted.  I was never going to have that in my garden, and I’m still not, but many of its relatives are welcome.

Thank you for listening to me ramble on about my Clematis phase, Dr. Hortfreud.  Though I know what you’ll really want to talk about is that wisteria and where I’m going to plant that in my garden.  I’ll write about that another day, I promise.

For now, I need to get out into the garden and do some weeding before it rains or I’ll be entering, once again, my weedy phase of my evolution as a gardener.

Hortifully, 
Carol

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: dr. hortfreud, perennials, vines

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gail says

    May 7, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    Wowzer, Carol, that's a nice number of Clemmies. I would love to have more…and wish we had a nursery that offered some of the sweet ones you've added to your collection.

    Reply
  2. mimi says

    May 7, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    Carol, C. Tangutica is a wonderful yellow bell. I think mine died with our lack of snow cover. You will love it. It needs a little support but is not a monster. My favorite is called 'Olga' have no memory of where I found her but she is pale blue, 4 petals with yellow center and shrub type. I confine her in a tuteur(sounds cruel).

    Reply
  3. growingagardenindavis says

    May 7, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    You have a wonderful collection! Wonder how many wisteria you will end up owning?

    Reply
  4. Søren says

    May 7, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    I do love a nice clematis. And those delicate ones look very lovely, though personally I rather like the garishness of the Jackmanii types.

    (So far I have 8 clematis in my garden, but I've accidentally discovered how easy they are to root from cuttings, so they might multiply…)

    Reply
  5. Storage Sheds says

    May 7, 2012 at 4:42 pm

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    Reply
  6. Lisa at Greenbow says

    May 7, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    Good for you. I was just saying to self today that I neeed more clematis. Some later blooming ones. I will look forward to hearing about your new habit, I mean clematis.

    Reply
  7. Trainer John says

    May 7, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    There is a cure. But who would want it when the suffering is so much fun.

    Reply
  8. Andrea says

    May 8, 2012 at 6:23 am

    Hi Carol, i love your salutation very much, why didn't i think of that first. My blogger friend from Illinois sent me 14 seeds and bulbs, hoping some of them will thrive in our hot tropics. Yes 3 of them thrive, 3 seeds and 2 bulbs and in fact i already posted the first to bloom, gaillardia. Clematis blue is included in the pack, unfortunately it didn't even germinate. So i am back to looking at the gorgeous blooms in temperate garden blogs like yours!… and this is my new blogsite. http://www.pureoxygengenerators.blogspot.com. Hortifully yours, Andrea

    Reply
  9. Helen Malandrakis says

    May 8, 2012 at 2:17 pm

    I love Clematis! I had a Jacmanii growing on my mailbox at my previous house and it was gorgeous. I don't think they are garish, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. People would stop by and take pictures of it. I had a Sweet Autumn growing on an arbor. At my current house, I have two Jackmanii growing across an old bench in my yard. I have a Nellie Moser on the left side of my garage and another on the other side of the garage. It's a light blue color and the variety is unknown. I need to find out. I have two more trellises to use and I'm thiniking of more Clematis!

    Reply
  10. gardenenvy says

    May 8, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    Serious plant envy right now!

    Reply
  11. ProfessorRoush says

    May 9, 2012 at 2:54 am

    integrifolia, in my garden, is a weedy pest, self-seeding everywhere. I've donated it 🙂 to several other gardeners.

    Reply

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