Clematis that Bloomed in April and May of 2018

With the exception of two recent additions, I have unfortunately been delinquent in posting about clematis for several months–blooming months at that!  My camera, however, was still clicking away.  Below are a few of the beautiful clematis I came upon, in my own garden as well as others, during April and May of last year.

4-17JoeZary

C. ‘Joe Zary’ blooming in full sun in April. If it were in more shade, the color would be stronger.

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The delightful and delectable C. ‘Asao’.  Such lovely shades of pink and sometimes semi-double.  This one is always one of the first three large-flowered clematis to bloom in my garden.

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Early blossoms of C. Josephine ‘Evijohill’.  Always a heart stopper!

5-15SugarSweetBlue

Clematis ‘Sugar Sweet Blue’ wafting its fragrance on my deck, backed by a stunning Chilean Fire Tree (Embothrium).

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C. ‘The First Lady’, one of only a few clematis actually hybridized in the US.  I don’t know which First Lady was meant to be honored with the name, but I think of my personal favorite First Lady whenever I look at it.

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C. ‘Silver Moon’ looking ethereal in the shade.

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C. ‘Ken Donson’ strutting his stuff.

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The redder than red C. ‘Rebecca’!

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A visit to C. ‘Duchess of Edinburgh’ on a garden tour.

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Oh, be still, my heart!  C. ‘Fond Memories’ while on a garden tour, gloriously blooming before my own even started.  Definitely one of my favorites!

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Still touring gardens–C. ‘Nelly Moser’ or one of her imitators.

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Another C. ‘Nelly Moser’ look alike spotted while garden touring.  Could be C. ‘Bees Jubilee’.

5-28Tartu

Back home to find C. ‘Tartu’ blooming away.  Love the two-tone ruffly look.

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Last, but definitely not least, the time-honored classic, C. ‘Mrs. Cholmondeley’ (pronounced Chumly)

Clematis Budding Up!

After a morning of downpours, the sun broke out briefly this afternoon and drew me outdoors.  My fabulous winter bloomer, Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’, was putting on a glorious show (see photos below).  It is such a reliable winter-time bloomer for me.  Much to my surprise, several of my spring and summer blooming clematis already have fresh green growth (more photos below)!

A series of photos of my Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’
showing off in January.

Freckles2

 

Freckles1

 

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Fresh new beginnings mingling with the old.  Oh, such promise!

C. ‘Josie’s Midnight Blue’

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C.  ‘Sugar-Sweet Blue’

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C. ‘Duchess of Edinburgh’

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March Clematis of the Month

None of my clematis earned Clematis of the Month for either January or February, and almost not for March either.  But one of the three clematis I ordered from Brushwood Nursery arrived in late March — IN BLOOM!  And lovely blooms they are, too.

Clematis Sugar Sweet -- Blue

Clematis Sugar Sweet — Blue

Clematis of the Month — March:
Clematis Sugar Sweet Blue

This lovely clematis is a new introduction from Ton Hannink of The Netherlands.  He’s a clematis friend whom I know through the International Clematis Society.  This clematis and it’s sister Clematis Sugar Sweet Lilac are both strongly fragrant.  Even my little one with just two early blooms flaunted its perfume!  Because the vines will grow only 6′ – 9′, mine will look  great in a pot on the deck, where I can enjoy the wafting fragrance.  Another plus — they are pruning group c, which means pruning is a cinch — just whack ’em back to 1′ – 3′ sometime between late fall and early spring (probably wait til early spring in colder climates).  You can get one for yourself, just click here.

I actually ordered three clematis from Brushwood this year.  The other two are Clematis Etoile Rose and Clematis Mrs Robert Brydon.  The three pots are sitting together in the photo above, so some of the leaves are belong to the other two clematis.

Clematis Etoile Rose versus Clematis Duchess of Albany

C. Etoile Rose is a texensis hybrid.  C. texensis is a species clematis that grows on riverbanks in Texas and has small red urn-shaped blooms.  Click here for more information on C. texensis.  Since the late 1800s hybridizers have been using this species to bring red into the clematis color palette.  In fact, almost every red or dark pink summer-blooming clematis has C. texensis in its background.  In addition to C. Etoile Rose, C. texensis hybrids include C. Duchess of Albany, C. Princess Diana, C. Ville de Leon, C. Sir Trevor Lawrence, and many others.  I thought I already had C. Etoile Rose, but recently realized that what I really have is C. Duchess of Albany.  Both have pink tulip-shaped blossoms, but those on C. Etoile Rose are downward-facing, while the flowers of C. Duchess of Albany are upward-facing.  Mine were definitely upward-facing, so, of course, I had to purchase a C. Etoile Rose as soon as possible.

Downward-Facing Blooms of C. Etoile Rose

Downward-Facing Blooms of C. Etoile Rose

The Upward-Facing Blooms of C. Duchess of Albany

The Upward-Facing Blooms of C. Duchess of Albany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

clematis_mrs_robert_brydonClematis Mrs Robert Brydon

I had heard of C. Mrs Robert Brydon but had never seen it in person until I saw it in a vase on the table at a garden luncheon.  At first I thought the small flowers might be from some kind of Thalictrum, aka meadow rue, which is not surprising since Thalictrum and Clematis are kissing cousins.  I finally realized that in spite of it’s small size it just had to be a clematis!  I was right.  This one is not a climber — it prefers instead to lounge about on whatever is convenient.  Can’t wait to see it blooming in the garden — hmm, what shall I provide for it to lounge upon?

 

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