Reader plant offer

Clematis make a wonderful addition to the garden and can bring colour from winter through to late summer. Their versatile growing habit sees clematis growing up trellis, in herbaceous borders, containers, or scrambling through trees. The large-flowered, early flowerers are perhaps the most familiar, but there’s also a wonderful selection of smaller-flowered, late flowerers with their own charm. These are the subject of our plant profile on page 62. Award-winning clematis specialist Thorncroft is a family-run nursery offering a wide range of clematis including well-known cultivars, many of the new introductions from around the world, evergreen and herbaceous clematis as well as some of the less common species. It has a good selection of the late-flowering clematis mentioned in the plant profile.

Gardens Illustrated readers can take advantage this month of a 15% discount on Thorncroft’s mail-order shop (applicable when you order two or more plants). The offer is valid across all plants sold, but here’s a reminder of some of the gorgeous clematis highlighted by Noël Kingsbury in his plant profile and offered by Thorncroft (subject to availability). Clematis texensis This rare North American species is grown from seed, so the colour and size of the flowers can vary slightly. Its nodding, urn-shaped flowers can be a deep purple, or a bright orangey-red, with cream lips, while others are scarlet with red inside. Flowers July – October. Height 1.2-1.8m. Clematis ‘ Sonnette’ The dainty, urn-shaped flowers are an attractive, deep peachy-pink. The pointed sepals have peachy-cream margins and their tips recurve to reveal butter-yellow anthers. Flowers July – October. Height 90cm-1.2m. Clematis ‘Buckland Beauty’ The exotic-looking, purply-red, nodding, urn-shaped flowers, mature to a very deep mauve-pink. They have a delicate sheen and recurving tips to the thick, waxy sepals. This is an herbaceous cultivar, small enough to grow in a container. Flowers June – September. Height 1.8-2.7m. Clematis Princess Kate (= ’Zoprika’) Elegant, trumpet-shaped flowers flare open towards their tip. The outside of the flowers are a rich, purply-pink with white margins, tips and inside. A truly beautiful flower to grace your garden. Dies back to ground level in winter. Flowers June – September. Height 3-3.5m. Clematis tubulosa ‘Wyevale’ The mid-blue, hyacinth-shaped flowers are borne in clusters and have a gorgeous perfume. This clump-forming (non-climbing) clematis has erect woody stems that don’t need staking. It is happiest in free-draining soil. Flowers July – October. Height 90cm-1.2m. Clematis ‘ Paul Farges’ The clusters of dainty, creamy-white flowers have a very prominent crown of primrose-yellow stamens. A vigorous climber that produces an abundance of pretty flowers. Awarded an RHS Award of Garden Merit. Flowers May – August, or June – September. Height