December 9, 2018 at 1:55 pm (clematisinseattle, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: Clematis Betty Corning, clematis caroline, Clematis Climador, clematis crystal fountain, Clematis Etoile Violette, clematis fairy blue, clematis florida sieboldii, Clematis Fond Memories, Clematis Fujimusume, Clematis Koenigskind, Clematis Lord Hershel, Clematis Morning Mist, Clematis Perle d'Azur, Clematis Polish Spirit, Clematis Princess Red, Clematis Proteus, Clematis recta Purpurea, Clematis Tartu, Clematis texensis seedling, clematis the first lady, Clematis Vyvyan Pennell
June in my garden offered a plethora of colorful, diverse, and interesting clematis, including the last of the large-flowered bloomers, early blossoms from July bloomers, and three beautiful clematis bell flowers, two of which are home-grown seedlings of the dainty scarlet bells of Clematis texensis.
November 27, 2018 at 5:54 pm (clematisinseattle)
Tags: Clematis Asao, Clematis Bees Jubilee, Clematis Duchess of Edinburgh, Clematis Fond Memories, Clematis Joe Zary, Clematis JOSEPHINE 'Evijohill', Clematis Ken Donson, Clematis Mrs. Cholmondeley, clematis nelly moser, clematis rebecca, Clematis Silver Moon, Clematis Sugar Sweet Blue, Clematis Tartu, clematis the first lady, Clematis Will Baron
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.
C. ‘Joe Zary’ blooming in full sun in April. If it were in more shade, the color would be stronger.
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.
Early blossoms of C. Josephine ‘Evijohill’. Always a heart stopper!
Clematis ‘Sugar Sweet Blue’ wafting its fragrance on my deck, backed by a stunning Chilean Fire Tree (Embothrium).
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.
C. ‘Silver Moon’ looking ethereal in the shade.
C. ‘Ken Donson’ strutting his stuff.
The redder than red C. ‘Rebecca’!
A visit to C. ‘Duchess of Edinburgh’ on a garden tour.
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!
Still touring gardens–C. ‘Nelly Moser’ or one of her imitators.
Another C. ‘Nelly Moser’ look alike spotted while garden touring. Could be C. ‘Bees Jubilee’.
Back home to find C. ‘Tartu’ blooming away. Love the two-tone ruffly look.
Last, but definitely not least, the time-honored classic, C. ‘Mrs. Cholmondeley’ (pronounced Chumly)
May 23, 2016 at 5:29 pm (Clematis of the Month, clematisinseattle, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: clematis caroline, clematis cezanne, Clematis Climador, clematis crystal fountain, Clematis Fireworks, Clematis Fujimusume, Clematis Josephine, Clematis Lord Herschell, clematis louise rowe, Clematis Morning Mist, Clematis Ramona, clematis rebecca, clematis rhapsody, clematis the first lady, Clematis Utopia, Clematis Vyvyan Pennell
So many of the large-flowered clematis in my garden are blooming extremely early this year, as much as six – eight weeks ahead of schedule. But whenever they choose to bloom, they look wonderful!
During my frequent strolls through the garden, I enjoy observing clematis in all their various stages–and, yes, sometimes I even talk to them. This spring, Clematis ‘The First Lady’ talked back loudly, showing herself off to great advantage. I purchased this clematis two or three years ago as Clematis ‘Rhapsody’, a clematis for which I had been hankering for some time. Once I saw the first meager bloom, I knew I had purchased a misnamed plant. But not until this year, when the poor clematis had built up enough strength to drag itself up out of the heavy shade of a big Fatshedera into the sunshine, did I really see what a gorgeous flower my mistake clematis produced–large lavender blooms (one flower actually measured 9 inches in diameter!), with contrasting burgundy stamens, ruffled edges, and textual ridges in the middle of each pointed petal. Elegantissimo! I was able to identify it as Clematis ‘The First Lady’ and seriously considered deeming this tough and beautiful plant Clematis of the Month for this month.
Serendipitously, yesterday my yoga teacher described to me a clematis a friend gave her as a cut flower. She has a fine eye for detail, so I was able to identify her unseen clematis from her description as Clematis ‘The First Lady.’ I showed her a photo on my smart phone to be sure and impressed both her and myself with my quick ID. That clinched it–Clematis ‘The First Lady’ is Clematis of the Month for May in my garden this year!
Clematis ‘The First Lady’ is an American clematis introduced into commerce by Arthur Steffen in Long Island, New York, in 1989. Mr. Steffen’s company is also responsible for introducing, in 1932, another gorgeous and famous American clematis, now grown throughout the world, Clematis Betty Corning. The beauty of the name of May’s Clematis of the Month is that you can choose your own favorite First Lady to be represented by this clematis. I know who mine is!
Below is a smattering of the many other worthy candidates blooming in my garden this month.
The satiny blooms of Clematis Louise Rowe
Clematis Rebecca
Clematis Ramona (lavender) with Clematis Marta
The ever-stunning Clematis Josephine
Clematis Cezanne
Clematis Fireworks
Clematis Utopia
Clematis Fujimusume–such a gorgeous blue!
Clematis Morning Mist–one of these blossoms measured 10 inches!
Clematis Climador (also known as Clematis Königskind)
Clematis Caroline (pink) with Clematis Vyvyan Pennell
Clematis Lord Herschell
The bells of Clematis Sonnette (also known as Clematis Peveril Peach)
Clematis Crystal Fountain (also known as Clematis Fairy Blue)
June 14, 2013 at 7:06 pm (clematisinseattle, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: clematis caroline, Clematis Ekstra, Clematis Etoile Violette, Clematis Fair Rosamond, Clematis florida, Clematis Fujimusume, Clematis Hakuji, Clematis Josephine, Clematis Margot Koster, Clematis Pagoda, Clematis Proteus, Clematis recta Purpurea, Clematis Sonnette, clematis the first lady, Clematis Vyvyan Pennell
Drip System, at Last!
Each clematis has its very own emitter!
Life is good. My friend Sean helped me (uh, well, actually, I carefully watched him) put in a drip system for my clems and all my pots. I am in heaven. With the dry spell we’ve been having, I have NOT had to spend hours (sometimes DAYS) watering. YayHA! Thank you, Sean. He showed me how to tweak the system myself, and I plan to make some tweaks this weekend. Hmmm, we’ll see how that goes.
Soon I’m Off to the International Clematis Conference in Germany
Where are the clems?
(2011 Belgium Conference)
Yes, it’s true. There actually is an annual international conference where clematis enthusiasts from all over the world gather together to immerse themselves in clematis for a whole week. Later this month I will be heading to southern Germany to attend my third conference (the other two were in Portland, Oregon, and Belgium). Now, I know you are probably imagining us sitting around in a stuffy conference room listening to erudite lectures about obscure clematis. Oh, no, each day all 60 or 70 of us visit two to four gardens and nurseries together–punctuated with rest stops for delicious food and drink, amid comraderie in a multitude of languages. But just imagine our consternation when, once in a while, we visit a garden with no clematis! Though we are able to enjoy the garden anyway, we are mystified that a gardener could actually neglect to weave at least one clematis into the garden design. We might even find a little time for one of those erudite clematis lectures, too. I plan to take lots of photos and hope to post from Germany, so keep a lookout (I’ll be in Europe from June 27 – July 11).
Bloomin’ June
My garden is in transition now between last of the large-flowered May-June bloomers and the beginning of the later-blooming clematis. Every day I find another clematis in bloom — what an exciting time! Here are just a few of my beauties:
Clematis Caroline, just starting her show.
Sweet Little Clematis Hakuji
Clematis Ekstra
First Blossom of Clematis Etoile Violette (must be 5″ wide!)
Clematis Fair Rosamond, winding down
Clematis Fugimusume
First ever bloom on my new Clematis florida
Clematis Josephine, still going and going
Clematis The First Lady (she’d look lovely with the dark purple Clematis The President )
Clematis Margot Koster
First of Many for my Recently Moved Clematis Pagoda
Lounger (non-climber) Clematis recta purpurea
Clematis Sonnette–adorable!
December 29, 2012 at 2:55 pm (clematisinseattle, Planting Clematis, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: clematis bagatelle, clematis etoile de malicorne, clematis florida sieboldii, Clematis jan fopma, clematis rhapsody, clematis the first lady
Now all my clematis are in the ground! Yippee! I managed to plant the last six between downpours a few days before Christmas.
One of them, Clematis Rhapsody, is obviously misnamed. When I bought it late last spring — the flowers were HUGE and the bloom was a luscious light mauve with a reddish boss. I simply couldn’t resist. But in the process of planting it the other day, between a dwarf Pieris and a variegated Fatsia along a fence, I looked it up on Clematis on the Web on my smartphone to see what exposure it needed. Lo and behold, I realized that my plant is certainly NOT Clematis Rhapsody. The first photo below is of my clematis blooming in its pot last June. The other photo is the real Clematis Rhapsody–deep purple with a white boss. Hrmph. Unfortunately, this problem of misnamed clematis is not an uncommon occurence. If you can identify my lovely unknown clematis — please let me know!
My Plant that is supposedly C.
Rhapsody’
The Real C. ‘Rhapsody’
The other five clematis I recently planted are listed below with links to photos and descriptions on that fabulous website, Clematis on the Web. This website has incredible information and usually photos of thousands of clematis! I can spend hours diddling around there. I also use it when I’m at nurseries to look up a particular clematis. I can find out how the blooms look, when it will bloom, how to prune it, and lots more.
Clematis The First Lady, an American clematis
Clematis Jan Fopma, a clematis that lounges rather than climbs
Clematis florida sieboldiana, a second one because I love it so much
Now that all my clematis are planted (except for three that are still to small to be planted out), I guess I’ll peruse my favorite mail-order clematis nurseries. I’ll be telling you more about them later.
Clematis in Seattle 