Thanks all for the IDs! I've learned a lot about plants (but not enough, of course) over the past 6 years, because the previous owner of our house was a big gardener / plant lover. These little flowers came with the house. I haven't found them to be invasive at all. I've actually moved some of the bulbs to various places around the yard and they seem to just stay put where I move them. That contrasts dramatically with some of the other stuff that came with the house, that I am growing to hate - such as lily of the valley and black-eyed-susan. In any case I REALLY appreciate the feedback of the experts on this forum - you all are so knowledgeable and experienced, it's wonderful! I hope these are an OK plant to have because I love them. :)

THanks to both of you. The Ledebouria socialis (thank god for copy and paste), seems a closer match to the leaves but none of the search results yielded has shown the same type flower I described. Hopefully I'll be able to find and old pic I took from one of my camera file folders from earlier in the year so I can show you. BTW, I dug it up from the soft, moss type stuff they use as soil for these things (sorry for my lack of technical jargon), and I noticed there was no bulb and that the roots were thick like on an orchid. Hopefully those extra details will help.

Here is a list to check out. There aren't too many clematis with light lavender, but these all are nodding or bell-shaped at least part of their life and are in the mid to light blue/lavender/purple shades. Remember that photos of this color range are notoriously inaccurate, so read descriptions and look at a bunch of photos, not just one, to get an idea of color. Also, colors may vary according to sun exposure and growing conditions a bit. Most (though not all) of these are carried by Brushwood, Silver Star Vinery, Joy Creek, or Hummingbird Farm. My apologies that I didn't notice you were Canadian before I created this list. Hopefully you can find some of them available to you and at least one will fill your needs. Clematis STAR RIVER 'Zostarri' Clematis TWINKLE 'Zotwi' Clematis BLUE RIVER 'Zoblueriver' Clematis I AM LADY J 'Zoiamlj' Clematis 'Buckland Pixie' Clematis 'Little Bas' Clematis viticella 'Hagelby Blue' Clematis 'Carol Lim' Clematis viticella 'Hanna' Clematis 'Pagoda' Clematis 'Yugiri' Clematis 'Yugao' Clematis 'Doctor Mary' Clematis 'Kahori no Kimi' Clematis 'Amelia' Clematis 'Murasaki no ue' Clematis 'Emilia Plater' Clematis 'Fairydust' Clematis 'Hakuree' Clematis 'Chatsworth' Clematis 'Eriostemon' Clematis 'Palette' Clematis 'Luxuriant Blue Clematis 'Utsusemi' Clematis addisonii Clematis crispa

All this talk about declining roses and replacing with vines has me thinking I want to replace a white hybrid rose near the walkway to my front door. I recently found a beautiful tall, narrow, pyramid-shaped, metal bookshelf at a garage sale, which I purchased with the intent of using it as a garden trellis. The "bookshelf" has removable glass shelves, so it would make an ideal trellis. My rose bush is declining and is too high maintenance for my lazy gardening tastes. A flowering vine, specifically a fragrant flowering vine, would be perfect. I love being able to stop and smell the flowers on the way to the door. The space where I want to use my trellis is in front of my house, sandwiched in between the sidewalk and the front wall of the garage. The space is approximately 3 ft x 3 ft, bordered by the house on one side and concrete sidewalk or driveway on the other three sides. I love the bell shaped flowers on the vine Marcia suggested. Are there any others that you all would suggest for my intended location?