When gardeners fall in love with clematis, it can quickly become an all-encompassing passion – no wonder, when the temptation to add ‘just one more’ is so strong. Clematis are the only climber to offer genuine year-round interest: there are blowsy, big-flowered summer varieties; an array of jewel-coloured autumn clematis; subtle winter-flowering species, including speckled Clematis cirrhosa; and, at this time of year, an assortment of delightful spring-flowering species and cultivars.
The spring-flowering clematis seem particularly special: compared to the more flamboyant in-yourface summer bloomers, their flowers have an enchanting, ethereal delicacy. Their colours are demure, often faded pastel blues and mauves, dusky pink and fragile white. That they appear alongside this season’s billowing blossom and bright bulbs only enhances their charm.
Peter Skeggs-Gooch, owner
