Planting Partners

Atragenes bloom when the garden is becoming busy, particularly at ground level, and their largely pastel palette means they are unlikely to clash with many plants. Partnering a blue clematis with a zingy forsythia or a white one with a pink ribes can dress up these ubiquitous shrubs. If planted on a shady wall, they combine well with variegated ivies. As their growth is dense and their seedheads attractive in summer, planting these clematis on trellis at the back of borders or growing up obelisks allows them to take part in the seasonal border display. Surrounded by tulips, crown imperials and arching bleeding heart, they look totally at home.