Clematis ‘Lanuginosa Candida’ on obelisk is a seedling of the original that was planted up against the house. It blooms in June and throughout the summer.

Geranium psilostemon and Clematis ‘Mme.de Bouchard’ against porch fence. I have another ‘Comtesse’ in the back on an obelisk. She blooms from June to September.

Clematis ‘Tie Dye’ growing in the fence bed along with the white climbing rose ‘Nastarana’. Both are climbing up into my Acer tataricum.

Geranium dalmaticum, and Clematis ‘Viola’. ‘Viola’ bloms prolifically in June and sporadically thereafter while clambering through my Pieris japonica..

I confess. I love Clematis; more than that, I am a Clematis junkie. At the present time, I believe I have forty-five different ones. I’ve also killed several more. I have small-flowered ones, large- flowered ones, climbers, and scramblers.

Hydrangea serrata ‘Blue Billow’ with Clematis ‘Negritjanka’ on trellis and ‘Viola’, Filipendula vulgaris ‘Aurea’, June

Clematis viticella ‘Walenburg’ on Picea abies ‘Acrocona’. blooms from June to fall

Clematis ‘Silmakiui’ scrambling on hillside in mid-June

I grow them everywhere – on trellises, in shrubs, climbing up into trees, scrambling on the ground – wherever I can show them off. I learned this at a clematis nursery in England that I visited in 1992. They were everywhere! What an eye-opener.

Clematis terniflora engulfing garage

Clematis texensis ‘Duchess of Albany’ with pink and white morning glory; blooms from mid-June through September

I never worry about pruning about because they “talk” to me. In spring, I wait until they start to foliate and then I prune out the dead wood. I only prune really hard if the clematis is one that wants to take over. Examples of that are C.paniculata/terniflora (Autumn Clematis) that not only grows super fast but also seeds – I now regard this as invasive) and C.texensis ‘Duchess of Albany’. Her small rose-colored bells are beautiful  but she’s like a shrub that just keeps spreading out her branches.

Clematis ‘Bill McKenzie,’ in bloom and seedheads in October

Some of them bloom in June, others in July, and others in August and September. There are some that bloom in May, C.alpina cultivars but I don’t have any of those because they need an east wall and I usually don’t walk on that side of the house until June.

Don’t you love them too?