Name: Evey Blalock South Louisiana - Zone 8b/9a (Zone 8b)
Many times, we've seen photos of gorgeous clems standing as crowning pieces of a garden, solitary in their beauty. They have their own dedicated support and their bases are clear of clutter or other plants. They look grand. We wish we could have something like that in our own garden, but sadly, we believe there is no space. I believed this thinking for a long time, and it prevented me from exploring the clem world for quite a while. I thought my garden, and my budget, were too small to have a worthy clem display. But, there is a hybridizer who is working hard to change that way of thinking. He has done book tours and he has hosted radio programs throughout the U.S. in an effort to dispel the myths that gorgeous clem displays are just for the lucky few who have grand gardens.
Here is an interview with that hybridizer, Raymond Evison, regarding his philosophy on planting and caring for clematis. For me, Evison's work has inspired me to change my way of thinking about clems. Sure, I still admire the large specimin plants that I see in pictures, but for me, I am much happier with the more intimate, personal feel of a well-loved small garden that engulfs you in beauty. The interview has some extremely helpful information that might surprise you... such as planting other plant material right with your clematis rather than leaving a space around the base. There's also specific information related to container growing. Here is that video.
Hi Evey - I am a clematis newbie and have about 12 coming in the mail for spring planting. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this video. It has answered a lot of my questions about care and planting. And it gave me some wonderful tips like planting the root ball so much deeper than it is in the pot. Now I am going to go and order some books on line including the one talked about in the video. (clematis for small spaces)
Name: Evey Blalock South Louisiana - Zone 8b/9a (Zone 8b)
Welcome, Susan! I'm glad you found that video as interesting as I did!
I loved the Evison book as well... I will actually be posting a review of it in the Book Reviews section here this weekend. It's a beautiful book full of lots of great combination plantings and inspirational photos. I carry it at SimplyClems.com, but you can also find it relatively easy over at Amazon. As you are a newbie, there are several other books I can recommend that you would find useful. My absolute favorite general reference handbook is an out-of-print booklet by the American Horticultural Society. It's called Practical Guides: Clematis, and you can sometimes pick up used copies on Amazon. A currently published book that I also like very much is Clematis & Climbers, written by David Gardner. It's published by British Clematis Society via Dorling Kindersley Books and is a great well-rounded presentation of not only care and planting of clematis, but also companion plants. Again, I carry that one at SimplyClems or you can pick it up at Amazon.
