A little bamboo magic has rubbed off on the rest of our side-yard, as this corner will attest with its perfectly-placed clematis blooms, intertwined with an unexpectedly-gorgeous climbing hydrangea which finally came into its own just in the nick of time. Both the hydrangea and the clematis adhere to this age-old adage that describes their growing pattern: the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap. This is probably the fifth or sixth year for the hydrangea, so its leaps are especially appreciated, as the sweet autumn clematis that previously ran its crazy twenty-foot-per-year growing pattern finally came to an end. I was debating how to handle it when the hydrangea scrambled onto the arbor and across the top of it, solving the problem in one pretty pass. Sometimes the garden works for you.
As for these purple clematis blooms, I’m sorry to say they did this without any help from me. To be honest, I’m not even sure where the base and roots of this vine are located. I’m assuming it’s close to the hydrangea base, so I focus my water there. Clematis like their feet moist and cool, and their leaves and tendrils warm and dry – finicky little things that can make overhead watering difficult. Still, they reward you with these divine blooms if they’re happy enough.
The climbing hydrangea is more forgiving, and once established it’s a workhorse for garden beauty. Its foliage remains fresh. handsome and bright green for most of the growing season. In fall it burns a bright yellow, and after falling reveals some gorgeous bark, and eventually the wondrously gnarled framework of a world-weary sage, the years carved into its winter face.
Right now, it is in full lace-cap bloom, sprinkling a sweet perfume that is like a lighter version of the linden tree which is also on its way into bloom right now. There is much sweetness in the air at the turn of June. Let’s go out and enjoy it before the day begins in earnest.
