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

JudyinGA wrote:
Pirl,
Part of the tree is in full sun part of the day. It is on the front edge of the "woods" and really looks like a sore thumb sitting out there. That's why I was considering cutting it down. It had a companion tree, a sweet gum (ugh), that started looking ratty so I had it cut down. I hate sweet gum balls with a passion and have just about eliminated those trees from the yard. Many are still in the "woods" but the prickly balls are harmless there. They grow wild here and come up everywhere. When the balls litter the yard it's like walking on marbles. Ugh, ugh, ugh, Hate 'em!

But I love pine trees so I left this one, thinking maybe I could plant smaller, understory trees in front of it to hide the long, bare trunk. Still may do that. But the idea of a clematis growing up the trunk sounded so beautiful that I thought I'd give it a try. The back of the tree is in shade all day so that's where I'd plant the clematis and let it wind its way around. The front is in full sun from early afternoon on. It's sort of hard to describe so I'll take a better picture this afternoon. The sun is finally out.

Here's a shot last summer of the "offending creature" as seen from the front of the house. It's that tall, bare thing sticking up in the far back. You are facing east. The sun comes up behind the trees and sets, roughly, behind your back. The sun shines directly on it from about 2-6 p.m. but the back of the tree is always shaded by something.

I have to go shopping for a baby shower gift for my soon to be born great-grandson (I'm still getting used to that one) this afternoon, so I'll get back tonight with some photos and start another thread.