Suggestions for Clematis companion? (flowers, growing, peony, DayLilies)
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I never had much luck with Clematis at my old house, but I want to give it another try. Maybe I'll have better luck here. Any way, I picked up a double flowered clematis from Lowes that I would like to put on a small trellis behind my mailbox. PlantFiles: Pictures of Clematis 'Purpurea Plena Elegans' (Clematis viticella)
I'm looking for suggestions for a planting to shade it's feet. I have the feeling that may have been why I never had much luck before, never had the right kind of plant doing the shading?
Mailbox is right on the property line so I'd need something well behaved, low maintenance, somewhat low growing, maybe 18" or under. Spring or early Summer bloomer would be an added bonus, as would be something other than white blooms, or even just an attractive foliage plant.
Full sun in 6B ~I'm not terribly familiar with plants that grow in full sun, so bring on all your ideas.
Oh, and the soil is mostly hard clay over rock, so I may be putting this in a small raised bed or bottomless planter box.
On a side note, I just have to say how much fun it is to move into a new house and discover plants you've never grown before. So far I have found out I have a Double File Viburnum, a Peony, several Mock Orange shrubs, a Sedum, what I think is a Wigeala, and possibly daylilies of some sort. It's an adventure!
Oxalis if you can find it. Make sure you find a clumping variety. The yellow would be adorable. It's a very shallow bulb, so it won't grow in the same root zone as the clematis. Mine bloom almost all summer. Toss some petunias in there or Calitunias if your local store has them for a little extra umph! during the hottest months.
This is my pink version. The yellow is just about to send out another flush.
We have two (one large purple and one double white) that are climbing up a trellis beside our carport. This is the second year for them and, so far, they're doing well. If you can find some dusty miller, that would give the roots plenty of shade as IT does well in full sun. The oxalis, pictured, is a wonderful spreading plant but ours won't stay IN the flower beds. We like it so much that we don't worry about it though. Hubby mows right over it at the end of summer.
It sounds like, from the list you have at the end of your post...that you're going to ENJOY your new yard. We put in a TON of new plants and we've been here for three years. The difference is amazing and our yard is one of the best looking in our little neighborhood. Hubby is mighty proud!!
Another interesting plant is Lemon Gem marigolds. They aren't like other marigolds, they have a different look and they can grow in part shade. They're bushier than most marigolds, and have lots and lots of pretty lemon yellow flowers. It's hard to find these plants, I don't know why more people don't grow them. I think they're perfect companion plants for showy plants like a clematis.
I have 4 clematis climbing lamp posts around our patio. I have day lillies at their feet. I planted the old reliable "stellas" which are very self reliant, dont require a thing and are very hardy. Also, the orange/gold colors look pretty with the purple shades of my clematis.
Lobelia is another good plant for this. You can find it in shades from purple to yellow in garden centers right now in my area. It's an annual, but you will find it probably will reseed if not too heavily mulched.
My clematis is about 8" tall and just about reaching the first rung of the trellis! I have a few other plants sort of in front of it, but not right at its feet it does o.k. It is on the south side of the house and being by Lake Michigan it doesn't get that hot here. I won't have flowers for quite awhile yet!
Great suggestions, THX!
Well I went to Lowes to look around. No Dusty Miller, no Calitunias (I had to google that to see what it was, lol), no Oxalis,and a pretty limited selection of Petunias.
What I came home with was a 1 gallon pink Guara, a Seafoam Wormwood, some creeping phlox, and some white alyssum. I did see some lobelia, and I like those too. I also saw this PlantFiles: Pictures of Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' (Euphorbia) and really like it too, but at the rate I'm picking up plants my little mailbox plot may wind up extending the length the entire driveway.
Actually whatever I dont use at the mailbox will go into my sparsley planted front bed or in planters on my deck.
At the moment I'm thinking either
A)Euphorbia, Lobelia, Clematis
or
B)Alyssum, Wormwood, and a nice yellow something, Basket of Gold or zinnias or marigolds
Opinions? Other suggestions?
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We have two (one large purple and one double white) that are climbing up a trellis beside our carport. This is the second year for them and, so far, they're doing well. If you can find some dusty miller, that would give the roots plenty of shade as IT does well in full sun. The oxalis, pictured, is a wonderful spreading plant but ours won't stay IN the flower beds. We like it so much that we don't worry about it though. Hubby mows right over it at the end of summer. 
