Clematis with Everything

This avid collector uses shrubs and perennials as living trellises for these flowering vines

by Linda Beutler

Dappled shade helps to preserve the flower color of a soft-pastel clematis. ‘Silver Moon’ clematis blooms before ‘Merritt’s Supreme’ hydrangea forms flower buds and again when the hydrangea is in its full August glory.

Most clematis admirers say that it was the showy, large-flowered hybrids that first caught their eye. In my case, it was the small blue flowers of Clematis integrifolia that I stumbled upon at a local nursery that got me hooked. This 15-inch-tall delight was unlike any clematis I had seen. I did a little research and soon found myself buying more and more clematis vines.

While the original plan for my garden was focused on cutting flowers, including my favorite old garden roses, I could not imagine a garden that didn’t include my new-found clematis friends. I quickly discovered that I could incorporate them into my plan not only to cover bare walls but, more important, to mingle with my roses and perennials and fill empty spaces with color when my flowering shrubs fell out of bloom.

Over the last 10 years, my garden has expanded across my 50-by-100-foot lot, and the lines between my cutting garden, perennial border, shade garden, and raised vegetable beds have become a bit blurry. I now rely on my collection of more than 200 varieties of clematis to knit it all together. Of course, roses and clematis are a classic pairing, but experimenting with various shrubs and perennials has helped me to find other excellent partners for clematis.

Further Reading
Pruning Clematis

Shrubby sidekicks make excellent comrades

If you’re one of those gardeners who doesn’t care for roses (I have heard that there are such people), there are many other spring- and summer-blooming woody shrubs that make excellent comrades for clematis. Spring-blooming weigelas (Weigela spp. and cvs.) and lilacs (Syringa spp. and cvs.) are perfect foils for delicate early-spring-flowering Clematis alpina cultivars and Clematis macropetala. Weigela florida ‘Variegata’, which has the bonus of foliage outlined in a cream color, is especially lovely later in the spring when combined with blue-flowered, semi-vining Clematis X durandii, which faints gracefully onto the bush without overwhelming it.

The right background lets clematis shine. The deep-blue blossoms of Clematis X durandii stand out against a ‘Variegata’ weigela.

Photo/Illustration: Linda Beutler

Herbaceous clematis species are the perfect companions for perennials in the border. The purple-blue flower spikes of lavender mirror the color of the delicate blossoms of Clematis integrifolia.

Cool colors create a soothing scene. The golden foliage of ‘Sutherland Gold’ European red elderberry provides an exquisite backdrop for a ‘Fuji-musume’ clematis.

Many clematis thrive when located in partial or dappled shade. In a shady area of my garden, the large-flowered hybrid ‘Silver Moon’ (Clematis ‘Silver Moon’) romps around in a ‘Merritt’s Supreme’ hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Merritt’s Supreme’). The lower light levels afforded by partial shade preserve the soft-colored blossoms of certain clematis cultivars, like the pale-lavender ‘Silver Moon’ and the pink pajama-striped hybrid ‘Bees’ Jubilee’ (Clematis ‘Bees’ Jubilee’), which tend to bleach out in full sun.

Another favorite combination of mine is the delicate foliage of ‘Sutherland Gold’ European red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’) and the periwinkle blossoms of ‘Fuji-musume’ (Clematis ‘Fuji-musume’). The fast-growing elderberry foliage turns green as it matures, so I prune it back throughout the growing season to coax it into producing new golden leaves, which are stunning next to the flowers of ‘Fuji-musume’.

Clematis with roses: a classic

Old garden roses have a limited color palette compared to modern roses, but their soft colors make a luscious confection when blended with the blues, purples, lavenders, and reds of the spring-blooming large-flowered clematis. At left, a ‘Peveril Pearl’ clematis winds around the stems of a ‘Reine des Violettes’ rose. Most old garden roses bloom in May and June, so careful clematis selection will yield a partner that not only blooms with the rose, but will also bloom again later in the summer, lending color where there is none.

Clematis is a perennial pal

Cool-colored backdrops enhance warm-colored clematis. The spherical blue flower heads of sea holly set the stage for the bright-red blossoms of ‘Gravetye Beauty’ clematis.

Clematis vines that bloom on new growth, like Clematis ‘Guiding Star’ and herbaceous forms like Clematis integrifolia, C. recta, and C. heracleifolia, make good partners with a host of herbaceous perennials. These rambling plants will happily peek out from the flowers and foliage of their perennial neighbors. Although some gardeners insist on staking these clematis plants upright, I like to let them do what they will.

In Chinese folk medicine, clematis leaves are blended with other dried plants to make herbal teas to relieve a sore throat. For that reason as well as aesthetic reasons, it seems natural to me to use clematis in the herb garden. Clematis integrifolia will lean languidly over lavenders (Lavandula spp. and cvs.), or make a nice contrast with culinary sage (Salvia officinalis), especially the variegated ‘Icterina’ or purple-leafed ‘Purpurascens’.

Japanese hybridizers have developed many fine short Clematis integrifolia cultivars, some of which are lightly fragrant, like the white-flowering ‘Hakurei’. The large charismatic blue-purple flowers of ‘Roguchi’ are shade-tolerant enough to ably wind their way through golden-leaved hostas like ‘August Moon’, giving my garden some pizzazz with the attractive blue and yellow duo.