I have been an admirer of the clematis plant species since childhood. Having grown up in Victoria, there was no shortage of stellar clematis visions on which to feast one’s eyes. We even had one that ran across the front of our house separating the ground level entry from the upper level.
It was an impressive specimen, a Clematis montana ‘Odorata’, and one which deserved its claim of reaching or in the case of its placement on our house, stretching horizontally to over 35 feet. And the scent of the masses of flowers! Divine!
However, that is not exactly the word my dad always used because it was his job to keep the enthusiastic Clematis montana under control. Not an easy undertaking to keep its wandering stems neatly arrayed in a horizontal position evidenced when my father could often be heard using his favourite swear phrase, “Lord love a duck!” (He would be especially vocal when he got to the section of vine where he had to somehow straddle the pond.)
So, it was no great surprise when I was old enough to put two and two together that I understood why some gardeners allowed their Clematis montana specimens to climb their towering evergreen trees. Maintenance problem solved.
John has an ‘Odorata’ in his garden which happily smothers the northeast corner of the pergola and ambles across the top towards the wisteria. And this year has to have been one of its best for blooms. It is absolutely covered in deliciously scented, dainty white flowers.
And a darn good thing it came through in the bloom department. The grumbling I have had to put up with from my beloved as he despaired the spring weather would never warm up to tickle the flower buds open. Every morning, he started off with the same grumble. I did try to point out that he should count his blessings that the below zero temperatures did not damage the buds…that they quietly endured, just waiting for the right degree of warmth to put on their show.
Clematis montana is an early blooming variety, typically developing flower buds in April. But the Montana cultivars we have tried over the years have languished due to our colder temps in Black Creek, damaging the flower buds to the detriment of blossoms. Our ‘Odorata’ is the only one which has consistently bloomed every year. The rest have been removed.
Clematis montana aside, we have discovered another early blooming clematis species whose growth or floral display does not appear to be overly affected by cooler spring temperatures. Probably because of its unique growth habit. Its name is Clematis integrifolia ‘Blue Ribbons’ and it grows upright to about three feet in height. That’s it. (Note: Some websites claim it only gets 16 to 20 inches tall.)
John has fashioned a section of fencing wire into a round cage over its root ball which helps the stems maintain their upright habit when loaded with flowers. And such wonderful blossoms! Petals are a delightful shade of bright blue, lightly ruffled along their edges and dangle shyly from the bent tip of each stem. Really and truly a stellar performer.
One last clematis of note in our garden which flowers decently early for us…Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’. This is another upright, non-climbing species…one meant to scramble along the ground. So they say, but John is miserly in how much garden space he allotts to each plant so he has corralled this plant into an upright position. Just as well. One does not have to bend down too far in order to take a whiff of its deliciously honeyed floral scent.
