April 3, 2003
Clematis & Coral Bells
These just popped open a few days ago....
clematis "Niobe" ....
and a generic white variety. Then there is the only evergreen clematis, Clematis armandii:
The coral bells, genus Heuchera, are the star of the mid-Spring garden, appearing like clock-work and casting a spell over the Lemon Tree Border....
Some useful factoids on these two garden favorites:
Clematis are difficult to get started. Snails eat the emerging stems so put a strawberry basket over them or even a glass jar until they get going. They want a dark, damp place to grow from but a sun-filled space to grow up into. Put a brick or cement paver over their root base. They look silly by themselves and are unhappy pinned to a wall or trellis. They are very happy twining through anything thickety or viney--rose bushes, tree canopy, other clematises. They are wonderful "weaving" material to create layers of color in a border or along a fence.
Heuchera are very useful border plants. They are perennials that keep their leaves all year and gradually spread out in their site. You can use them as groundcover in a border with bulbs, iris, roses, salvias--any plants that bloom later when the coral bells stems have disappeared. Their variety of form and color is handy. 3-foot high Heuchera maxima is a native from the Channel Islands of southern California well-adapted to gardening. It has pale green-white bells and bright green foliage. The tiny alpine native coral bell, Heuchera micrantha, is just right for the front edge of the border--at about 6 inches high. The familiar deep pink hybrid coral bell is somewhere in the middle. And I have a gorgeous pale pink hybrid "LaRochelle" that is as tall as the Maxima (the one seen in the photo).
And the first flush of spring Wisteria...
