Autumn Clematis

Here she comes, like a new bride...

...the autumn clematis.  She is always a welcome lady, gracing our front yard with her tiny white blooms.

The bees are still around, and they have been enjoying these new blooms.

We placed this trellis in the front yard when we were forced to remove a maple tree that was over our clay tile sewer pipe.  It stands in the exact spot.  I wanted something tall there, but not overpowering.  We knew we couldn't have another tree because of the roots.  I didn't think a shrub would be as dramatic.

 My mom found the vine at a nursery.  Summer pink and purple clematis are easy to come by, but I think the fall ones are harder to obtain.  I rarely see them.  Surrounding the clematis are autumn sedums.  They are starting to turn to their fall red color.

I'm a perrenial girl, I like my garden elements to come up on their own without too much work (for me, annuals are too much work).  We have a very large yard, so we plant items that are reliable and, for the most part, need little watering. 

This clematis vine is in our front yard in our 'bean' garden and she is a pretty independent girl.  Once her roots were established, we basically left her alone.  I do not cut her down in the late fall.  Her vines stay up all winter and in the spring we shake it to remove any dead and broken branches.

She's a definite favorite in the garden, a real show-stopper.  She comes out to party when all the other colors are beginning to leave the garden.