This is the Sweet Autumn Clematis, one of my favorite vines of all-time. It’s one of those clematis that you cut down to the ground each Spring, after which it makes its leaps, often covering upwards of thirty feet in a single season before blanketing itself in sweetly-scented white blooms. While the blossoms are individually delicate, taken en masse they create a potent sea of petals and perfume, an intoxicating mix that many bees find irresistible.
Despite its delicate appearance, this is one tough vine, coming back year after year with the slightest of care. Of course it does much better when amended with some manure and a cooling cover of mulch, and when given that extra pampering it will astound you with a show like this in the late gardening hours of September.
It’s the perfect plant for covering an arbor, but I’ve also seen it used effectively to soften a fence, or winding its way among spring flowering shrubs like the mockorange – which gives a pretty and fragrant bookend to both sides of the summer.
