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.
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_0827-1024x768.jpg)
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).
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_0843-1024x768.jpg)
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.
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_7928-1024x768.jpg)
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’.
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_6346-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_3111-1-1024x768.jpg)
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.
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_3102-1-1024x768.jpg)
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.
![](https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_3094-1-1024x768.jpg)
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.
2 Comments