Hi There!

Clematis are a beautiful group of plants and I have a few in my garden which are always stunning when in flower.  I thought I could find a collective noun for them, but to no avail.  A conglomerate of didn’t sound right because their not taking over the world, a gaggle is already used by those pesky Geese, herd and other equivalents are taken by animals, tree’s get a stand.  Fleet and flight are well and truly spoken for, herd and pack are no better.  I have it!  A Cling of Clematis.  Cling because a lot of them cling to other plants to scramble up and about.  No doubt incorrect, sounds alright though.

Moving right along, Clematis is a genus of approximately 300 species from the buttercup family Ranunculaceae.  They became popular from round about 1862.  They are mostly woody climbing vines but some species are shrub like and some are herbaceous perennial plants.  There are both deciduous and evergreen species.  Leaves are opposite and divided into leaflets and leaf stalks that curl and twist around other plants or structures to anchor the plant.  They are mainly found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere although there are species in Australia and New Zealand as well.

They prefer to have the base of the plant in shade( a cool root zone) and the top half in full sun.  The plants we see are normally the big showy cultivars and there are hundreds and hundreds of them.  The smaller flowered species though will show their subtle beauty as well and are well worth growing for something a bit different and interesting.

This has been just a quick over view of them and here is my Cling of Clematis.  Enjoy!

Cheers!