Camouflage the ugly in your garden with pretty clematis
By Margaret Griffin
Every garden probably needs a climber, whether it’s to camouflage an ugly wall or fence or just to add height and interest to your border.
Clematis Princess Diana is a stunning late flowering clematis. It produces striking magenta pink tulip-shaped flowers and will award you with an abundance of colour and hundreds of blooms from around August time through to October. This late-flowering clematis looks lovely scrambling through a climbing rose or tree in full sun or semi-shade. The unusual, tulip-like flowers associate well with many medium-sized garden shrubs
Clematis Princess Kate is a relatively new variety but a true beauty. It will be a showstopper in your garden. Named after the Duchess of Cambridge, this clematis is a late flowering variety. It has become very popular for its striking colouring and long flowering period, making it a great choice for all gardens.
This vigorous deciduous clematis is known for its dramatic appearance and long flowering period. Starting in mid-summer and continuing through to early autumn, she has beautiful, large, tulip-shaped flowers that are facing upward. The flowers are white on the inside and purple-red on the outside. These flowers will attract bees and butterflies to your garden!
Clematis Armandi is the perfect plant for camouflage all year round. A vigorous evergreen clematis, it is laden with almond-scented, star-shaped cream-white flowers from March-April. It’s perfect for growing against a sunny west or south-facing wall.
As it’s evergreen, it retains its glossy green leaves throughout the year. This clematis is the best fragrant clematis and fills the air with the sweet jasmine fragrance each spring. It may also reward you with a second bloom in August.
Clematis Taiga is a real show-off climber, producing countless blooms throughout summer on rich green foliage. It is compact making it ideal for covering walls and fencing or growing in a container as a spectacular patio feature. Despite its opulent looks, clematis is completely hardy, undemanding and easy to prune - simply cut back the stems to just above ground level each year.
If you would like advice on choosing the right climber for your garden email a photo of your space to info@griffinsgardencentre.ie and our design team will help you choose the perfect plant.
Griffins Garden Centre and restaurant is open Monday-Saturday.