Clematis: A few pics...., 1 by JudyinGA

JudyinGA wrote:
Pirl,
The poison ivy and thorny vines are VERY discouraging. I have a "wild" area out back in the "woods" where I had the tree guys thin out the saplings (about three years ago before all my annoying medical problems started), hoping I could start a shade garden. I had them chip the trees and spray the chips on the "floor" of the cleared area so it would keep down weeds and any new growth. It's a very large area and extends the whole width of the yard (about 100') and is about 30' deep. Gets full or dappled shade until late afternoon when about the first 10' gets afternoon sun. Checked it out this spring and found the poison ivy and lots of thorny vines. Sprayed with Roundup --- twice --- but some of it is still there.

There is a huge pine tree on the front edge (gets a lot of sun) that has top growth only. Probably about 30 feet of the trunk is bare. I was going to cut it down but then had an idea about putting a clematis on it (that's what browsing these forums will do!). The only one I've seen that really covers and would go high enough is Sweet Autumn.

The shady area behind it would be planted in azaleas (that are doing poorly in front) and those other shade plants we mentioned. This is where I wouldn't care if the Lamium went wild.

I let this grow up as it pleased. It's 21 years of growth. The pine tree is hidden behind the trunk of the big oak in the center of the yard but you can see the large shady area that extends another 40-50' to the right out of the photo.