Clematis alpina

Clematis that perform whatever the weather are plants to be treasured, and those that also flower early in the year are more valuable still. The Austrian clematis

( Clematis alpina) is one of those enchanting early climbers no garden should be without, producing nodding four- petalled (sepalled) flowers from mid-March through to May. It has a central core of white, sterile stamens, enclosing a core of fertile ones.

Modest in terms of growth, it only reaches 3- 3.6m (10-12ft) so is ideal for small gardens and pots. It thrives in sun or shade, sun or wet and in most soils as long as it’s not too dry. Pruning isn’t necessary, save from snipping out errant shoots to keep it in shape, usually done after flowering as it blossoms on year-old shoots. C. alpina comes from the mountains of Europe, through into northern Asia, scrambling over rocks or low shrubs. It’s variable in the wild, with a range of different tones besides the normal blue and white, some of which are named as separate species.

Frillyflowered

C. macropetala takes over through China, Mongolia and Japan. Over the years C. alpina has been selected and bred to produce a multitude of shades from red, pink, blue, purple, indigo and, of course, white. After the flowers come whiskery grey seed heads that give a second season of interest from late summer into winter.