Year-round clematis

Clematis win a place in the heart of every gardener for their breathtaking flower displays as they scramble becomingly up fences and over trellises. Most varieties are very well-behaved and just need a little tucking in to their supports every so often and an annual prune to keep them performing year after year.

One of the many good things about clematis is that there's never any need to be without their charming, sunny flowers, as there are varieties which flower at all times of the year. In our garden centre in Wisbech you'll find clematis that flower in spring, summer, autumn and winter: here's our pick to give you a clematis for every month.

January:           Clematis cirrhosa var. balearica has pretty ferny evergreen leaves and curious red-speckled  
                            flowers: the fluffy seedheads which follow last for months

February:          'Wisley Cream' is another early bird with greeny-white flowers and glossy evergreen foliage:  
                            silvery, silky seedheads follow the flowers

March:               Clematis armandii is evergreen, with glossy, leathery leaves and almond-scented blossom

April:                  Alpine clematis have daintily nodding, violet-blue flowers that last weeks: 'Frances Rivis' is  
                            deep violet-blue and a prolific favourite

May:                   Clematis montana comes in white or pink and is cheerfully rampant, a froth of flowers in May

June:                  Early large-flowered clematis like 'Perle d'Azur' and 'Prince Charles' have huge and plentiful  
                            satiny flowers

July:                   Clematis viticella types are tough and trouble-free and come in rich, velvety colours: 'Etoile  
                            Violette' is deep purple

August:             Late-flowering 'Gravetye Beauty' is an eyecatching ruby red with lovely pompom-like   
                           seedheads to follow the flowers

September:     Clematis rehderiana needs plenty of room but if you give it the space it's an eyecatching  
                           choice, with big panicles of scented pale yellow flowers like little bells

October:           'Bill McKenzie' has bright yellow flowers with curiously thick petals, curling outwards like  
                            lemon peel, and long-lasting silky seedheads

November:       Clematis tangutica is smothered in lantern-like flowers followed by big fluffy seedheads

December:       Clematis cirrhosa var purpurascens 'Freckles' is a very reliable evergreen type with deeply  
                            speckled dusty pink flowers right through winter