Gentle reader, you say toe-MAY-toe. I say toe-MAH-toe. It is very much the same in the gardening world with the plant we are talking about today. The pronunciation squabble goes like this: I call it kle-MAT-is, and some of my gardening friends call it KLEM-uh-tis. 

However you say it, I think we can all agree that clematis (this is the proper spelling) is beautiful and worthy of a second look. For those of you who have been with me for a while, I first wrote about this plant in 2022 — and I added it to my gardens solely because of its name.

Group 3 — Blooms on new wood.

These have larger flowers that often appear from late spring through fall. Group 3 clematis actually flourish with a hard or rejuvenation prune — cutting the plant back to about 12 inches tall — in late winter or early spring. This signals the plant to put on lots of new growth and abundant flowers throughout the season.

I discovered something while walking around my gardens this week: I have a clear preference for flowers that are either gloriously oversized or those that send up a stalk of tiny blooms that work together to make a statement. Not sure why I'm sharing that, but it was an interesting thing to notice. 

The standard clematis flower is a large blossom with six or seven petals, measuring 5–6" across — which fits my taste perfectly. There are also cultivars with smaller blossoms, double blossoms, and lovely bell-like flowers. Colors range from white to wine red, lavender to deep purple, and there are even a few yellow ones.

One thing to keep in mind: it can take several years for a clematis vine to mature and begin flowering vigorously. To shorten the wait, purchase a plant that's at least two years old — at garden centers, those are typically the ones in quart- or gallon-size pots. 

Clematis are happiest with cool shade at their roots and warm sun on their foliage, so plan to plant something at the base to shade the roots. If you'd rather not compete with those flowers visually, a nice ornamental grass makes a lovely textural contrast. Whatever you choose, I'm sure it will be just perfect.

My personal preference is to always choose Group 2 or Group 3 clematis, so that no matter how carried away I get with my pruners, I will still have flowers.

My last two selections have only been in my gardens about a year and a half, so they have not yet begun to reach their full potential. I planted them together and set them growing up the same trellis, thinking the color combination would be magnificent. Unfortunately, I did not pay close enough attention to their bloom times.

They are a bit like the characters in the movie LadyHawke — have you seen it, gentle reader? 

It is the story of cursed lovers who can only glimpse each other in the fleeting moments between sunrise and sunset. By day, Isabeau is a hawk riding on the shoulder of her true love Navarre. At sunset she turns back into a woman just as Navarre turns into a great black wolf — and so it goes, day after day. It's not exactly the same with Guernsey Cream and Duchess of Albany, but it's close enough to make me feel for them.