If you are a Clematis junkie like I am, June is the month when many of them engulf my garden. I may complain about bindweed twining its way around everything but I’ll never complain about being engulfed in Clematis. I’ve probably tried to grow at least a hundred different species and cultivars. Today, I’ll share some of them with you.

Clematis ‘Niobe’ beside Spiraea ‘Glow Girl’ with Fallopia japonica ‘Variegata’ behind it and Alliium christophii and Nepeta ‘Dropmore Hybrid’ in front of it.

Clematis ‘Niobe’ is probably the only red clematis in my garden. She blooms prolifically in June and sporadically thereafter. The repeat bloom may be better this year because I finally found a way to elevate her (she usually gets lost in the “weeds” because she has had nothing to climb on).

Clematis ‘Warsaw Nike’ is actually not quite this dark. and Clematis ‘Venosa Violacea’ on the right not only climbs up the garage wall but also clambers over the planting in the hayrack.

I learned many years ago that the viticella cultivars never get mildew and rarely die back. I discovered ‘Venosa Violacea’ in England on my first garden trip there and have since enjoyed many other cultivars. It used to start blooming in July but climate change has engendered a much earlier start.

Clematis ‘Sapphire Indigo’ is beginning to cover my tree peony that was glorious for a short period of time and ‘Lanuginosa Candida’ is beginning to cover the ground nearby.

Clematis ‘Sapphire Indigo’ is a newer cultivar that does not climb unless it has support. It is basically a crawler but, I find, it will happily twine itself into and over shrubs. Happily, it does not stop blooming untillate fall.  On the other hand, ‘Lanuginosa Candida’ is a climber but when it finds itself without a trellis, it will happily travel overland. It, too, is a long bloomer but not as long as ‘Sapphire Indigo’.

Clematis ‘Serafina’ is shown here at the base of Picea pungens.

Clematis ‘Silmakiui’ echoes the color of Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and contrasts nicely with Rosa Oso Easy ‘Double Red’.

You may have noticed a tendency in my clematis photos toward the selection of blue and purple cultivars. ‘Serafina’ is a white and lavender bicolor who blooms only in May and June. Happily, growing nearby is Clematis ‘Silmakiui’, a deeper blue that blooms all summer.

Clematis ‘Rooguchi’ and Clematis ‘Piilu’ twining through Amorpha canescens

Although I love the large flowered clematis, I am entranced by the ones with bell-like flowers. One of my favorites is Clematis ‘Rooguchi’ that I planted to twine through a rugosa rose but it has a mind of its own and twines there but as it has aged has also decided to decorate my Amorpha.

Clematis ‘Betty Corning’ on back fence and up into Heptacodium.

Another bell-like clematis that I love is ‘Betty Corning’. Her bells are larger and paler than those of ‘Rooguchi’ but she has lived in this shady site for over twenty years.

I hope you will find room in your gardens for some of these treasures but, meanwhile, I’m happy to share some of them with you.