THREE CLEMATIS MONTANA COMPANIONS
Ceanothus Skylark - Californian Lilac
With the flowering period of the clematis limited to one season, it’s a good idea to companion-plant something with a little structure to keep the area from looking bare in the winter months. Ceanothus Skylark is a lovely, bushy evergreen shrub that fits the bill perfectly and has the added bonus of a stunning show of clusters of intensely blue flowers from May to June. It likes sun so does best on a south or west-facing border.
Clematis ‘Polish Spirit’
Polish Spirit is a gorgeous climbing clematis with a lovely rich purple flower, below. It worked really well in the show garden I did for Bloom In The Park in 2012. It is a Group 2 clematis so it would need to be pruned at the start of the year. The deep-coloured blooms will look fabulous popping up here and there in the middle of a pink sea of Montana.
Rosa ‘Veilchenblau’
This deliciously scented rose, left, is a stunning rambler that can reach three metres in height and two metres wide. The orangescented flowers come in large clusters. ‘Veilchenblau’ means Violet blue as the blooms have a light blue tint. As they mature they turn more mauve-lilac and then lilacgrey. A lovely combination with the pink clematis and blue ceanothus. It likes sunshine or even dappled shade and flowers in June and July, later than Montana .