I've cleared out some new beds on my property and will put up four new trellises against the fence at the back of the bed. I want to put clematis there.
The spots are all woodland: clay mixed with organic matter. They get lots of light, but no direct sunlight.
Show/tell me what your favorites are.
Your four favorites
what things grow well near by?
is it full sun or partial later in the year...ie..what looks like "lots of light" in winter sometimes is little light in summer as things leaf out. what is amount of light/sun at the summer solstice?
is this the first time the area has been cleared of woodland?
any pics of the area you can post?
Let me see - this is the area from a distance, looking from the house at the north end of the acre to the south. the beds are straight ahead. I don't think I have anything looking at them closer. Maybe today I can get some pictures.
I live the foothills of the Cascades in Woodinville, WA, so, even without trees blocking it, my "full sun" is nowhere near real "full sun". :-) I have a meadow that is ringed with trees - mature big leafed maples to the south and a forest to the west.
I think the area was cleared many years ago to put this meadow in for grazing and then 30 years ago the house was built and a fence was put in. So the beds have been technically cleared. I just removed the last of the salmonberry shrubs (more to go) and the native dewberry.
The soil is clay, but is acidic.
Oh, and this is my dog, Sahara, mid-stride in the middle.
This message was edited Mar 6, 2009 11:58 AM
Sahara is cute and looks like she loves her yard.
good to have pic of area in full summer like this.
many clems do well in partial shade, with the exception of the texensis group. any of this group are prone to powdery mildew. examples..lady bird johnson, princess diana, duchess of albany, sir lawrence trevor..
clems, like most plants, adequate sun encourages best color and more blooms.
in your area i would go thru the silver star vinery web site and note which ones debbie fischer says are good for partial shade. they are located up that way and local recommendations are always better.
i am in the eastern midwest, just north of columbus, ohio and some of mine that do well in partial shade are blue angel, kakia or "pink champagne", nelly moser, little nell, avante garde,
by concentrating on early bloomers that bloom before the peak of the summer when conditions are shadiest you can also bridge the gap giving the plant best option for vigor with a shady area.
also hagley hybrid and countess bouchard are planted in more partial shade at my place.
have fun with your new garden.
Thank you. Partial shade clematises and stay away from the texensis group.
You gave me so many good ideas. I'm looking forward to researching these!!
Here Sahara is with her adoptive brother, Magic.
wow those are elegant and graceful dogs. kind of saluki-ish? love them!
Yes. Most people who know their dogs say Saluki. They are Silken Windhounds, a rare breed, originally from Whippet and Borzoi. I think the Borzoi mellows the Whippet a little and the Whippet makes the Borzoi a little less aloof. I have a Whippet, but it's nice to have some coat on a dog in the wintertime.
I have been (and still am at) the Silver Star Vinery site - oh my gosh, I'll have some fun there. But how on earth am I doing to limit it to 4?
you won't limit to 4. simple as that.
the dogs are gorgeous. they look so balanced and ready for action yet calm. love them. i have a 11 year old long hair chihuahua who is very calm too. but the presence of your dogs is very cool. love the name too , silken windhounds! bet they have good eyesight and keep the bunnies away!
ok . decided to commit to 4 recommendations for you
1. guernsey cream early blooming white that opens pistachio color, fades to cream with a recurving sepal at maturity. hard prune at end of bloom cycle and will give you a good second show. it has a rather mounding growth habit and can be contained to front of border on a obelisk type support. i grow it on climbing hydrangea or shorter obelisk type supports.
2. Margaret hunt a fantastic bloomer without years to esatablish. blooms bloom blooms and very pretty. not hard to eatablish or fussy. never had any wilt with either this or guernsey crea,
3. tie dye same as above on all points
4 rouge cardinal same as above on all points
i would get two guernsey creams and grow them in front of the other 3. the other three can be on the fence with some type of assist.
here is guernsey cream form last year. i actually have this clem in almost every one of my clem gardens as it is a showstopping early bloomer that makes an spring garden walk pleasant in areas that have not yet started major blooming.
I know for sure one of my favourites is Comtess de Bouchard. It is awesome and has done so well for me.
Here is a montana Rubens which grows happily under the eaves. These can become pretty big. You only prune once after flowering to keep them in shape. They bloom in early spring on old wood so that's why you don't prune them otherwise. There are other montanas which might do too. Looks like you have a lot of fence to fill so you shouldn't have too much problem. They are supposed to get to about 30 feet. but mine are so far at about 20. There are some montanas that are smaller.
Okay, Guru - what do you mean grow Guernsey Cream (and I love it) in front of the others? Won't they all need some support to grow up? Would I put another support in front of the others? How do these do with deer? My back yard is fenced, but I do have deer that pass through in the front.
Dawn - I love Comtesse de Bouchard, as well. Thank you!!
I can see that I'm going to have to start being creative about finding things for these to grow on.
This message was edited Mar 7, 2009 8:02 PM
Doss, what a lovely scene!! Thank you. Now I'm thinking that I should put some clematis in other areas of the yard . . .
Doss, That looks fantastic! How is it supported? And what is it growing in, a pot? I have some partly shady areas that I would like to add Clematis to as well.
Dyane
I put large hooks into the beam and then put 8 foot green metal stakes across them. They are planted in the ground as I have some unpaved area at each end of the patio.
Are there clematis that can take heavy shade? My front door is on a walkway that runs from north to south along the east side of the garage. It's downright dark in the winter - but heavily shaded in the summer, getting eastern morning light only.
Katie, put the rouge cardinal, tie die and margaret hunt at the rear of the bed, to train up on the fence.
To the front of them put the guernsey cream on 3 to 4 foot obelisks. the guernsey cream will be happy there for a couple of years, and if they eventually reach back and intertwine with the ones to the rear, it will be harmonious as the guernsey should bloom earlier. it will give dimension
to the design vs planting them in a straight row also.
re deer. at least in my area, deer do not eat clems. i think this is generally true. i have had tomatoes near clems before and the deer have feasted on the tomatoes but never touched the clems.
doss that montana is so pretty. wish i could have them on my zone.
and you keep it so in check.......which is essential. with out pruning they can take over a structure.
really nice. green with envy as they say!
Oh, yay. I would like to put some in the front, too.
I've been looking at a lot of clematises and a lot of your pictures and it's clear that I need to put them up in some places in combination. I've been thinking of putting up a cattle panel in front of the fence - I want to keep the vines off the fence as much as possible because I spend a fair amount of time on fence repair from limbs and dead trees falling on the fence in the winter (grrr). I like the idea of putting a shorter obelisk in front though. And I do have a couple of stumps with salal and native huckleberry growing on them that could use some flowers . . .
stumps are great for mounding type clems. if it is sunny enough and well drained a "golden tiara" is gorgeous. i will attach a photo of golden tiara that is draping over a retaining wall. but it also mounds nicely.
some of the non climbing, herbaceous clems look great in and around stumps. check out which ones are vigorous in your area.
here is golden tiara........
Wow, I love that. I wouldn't say that anything about my soil is well-drained, but I could situate the plant so that it's up higher and sitting in compost, rather than our natural clay. I do have a spot where something like that would get as much sun as we have, which isn't too bad in the late summer.
Check. Added to my list: Golden Tiara.