PLANT of the week

Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’

Clematis flowering in winter sounds too good to be true, but ‘Freckles’ (one of the few evergreen species) is at its peak from now until the end of March.

Although the cream, bowl-shaped blooms are not as bright and showy as the large-flowered summer hybrids, I’d rate it the most reliable of the winter-flowering group.

A biggish climber, ‘Freckles’ thrives in any reasonable soil that’s not poorly drained, in sun or light shade. But do give it room to spread – grow it up through a large deciduous tree or up a section of trellis. Best of all, grow it over an arch or pergola where you can walk underneath, and team it with a reasonably vigorous rambler or climbing rose.

It can reach 30ft, though in most gardens it’s easy to keep pruned to 10ft or so if it’s cut back straight after flowering. In a reasonably kind winter you can be sure of a good display.