It's a very good question :-) I always try to keep in mind both the growth habits and any pruning requirements before combining vines. As a rule, I will not combine any very aggressive vine with a less aggressive one....the more aggressive one always wins, usually to the detriment of the lesser. I'd consider hops to be on the upper end of aggressiveness.....any vine that can grow 30' or more in a single season wins my prize for aggressive behavior! Not to mention battling with root spread and associated shoots. Plus, its a scratchy devil to try and prune back in season. I also will only combine clematis with other clematis with similar pruning requirements. It just simplifies things so much. AFA hops being dangerous to dogs, that has only been established with certain breeds (namely greyhounds) and only if a reasonable quantity is ingested. In fact, extract of hops is a common ingredient in a joint pain relief medication used by veterinarians so can't be all that toxic. A golden hop vine and a previous pet Cocker spaniel did not get along well however.....the raspy and amazingly fast growing vine stems would grab at her soft coat and tangle her up so that she couldn't make her way back inside. I'd have to go out with my shears and rescue her -- THAT'S when I decided to get rid of my hop vine!

I have a clematis armandii, two Zephrine Drouhin Roses and a carolina jessamine that I am ready to plant. The roses and jessamine are to be transplanted and the Clematis is in a pot. I have been thinking about intermingling some combination of them to extend the flowering season across my fence and up and over my garage. There is plenty space for all of them but are they compatible? Has anyone had some experience with combining vines and does this work? I know the Clematis and jessamine will need little pruning if any where they will be growing, but the rose will have to be pruned some. If this won't work are there any vines that would work with the clematis or the rose? Thanks for your help in advance, Lana

If you want to look at the Upton Grey gardens as a sort of living museum, the "unnatural" and "time-warp" comments are irrelevant. Many aspects of life as lived a hundred years ago would seem that way today: fashion, social conventions, etc. GJ herself would have been an anomaly, an independent thinker, and unmarried, though she did have the support of her well-off family. As a private garden for even the most enthusiastic gardener of moderate means, it's totally impractical. Could you imagine doing the tennis lawn maintenance she describes annually? In that sense, the time warp comment is apt. GJ was designing gardens at a time when household servants and gardeners were still affordable. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) it was around WWI that social changes in Britain made it impossible to find household help cheaply. I'm struck by the author's commitment to see the project through and admire her courage. She made a lot of mistakes (some of them over and over, inexplicably, like the pond debacle and the repeated planting of cannas too early) but you've got to give her a lot of credit for putting herself out there and risking embarrassment before the stream of gardening bigwigs who came to see her efforts in the early years. I personally don't think I could live with the restrictions she puts on herself regarding plant materials. Her strict adherence to the original plan and plant selections are the only way to give garden visitors a look at an authentic GJ garden, but I'm sure the designer would be using modern improved varieties if she were alive today. Especially with the thugs and disease prone roses. Yuck. Jo

I don't have any of my roses with clematis, for the simple fact that I was told roses love a lot of water, and clematis only like a deep watering maybe once weekly. Both have performed well for me under those conditions, but my roses do suffer from black spot and powdery mildew. I purchased another this year that is supposed to be disease resistant...we'll see. The other two, climbing Don Juan and Sombreuil...both died back practically to the ground in spite of my efforts to wrap the canes in burlap, bury the crown, etc. But they have nice new growth this year, and Don Juan blooms are beautiful. I love the red. I've moved them to different locations and they've handled it well. Now that I think of it, maybe I need to move the Sombreuil away from my grape vine...maybe it's too close to risk the mildew spreading to my grape vine. My grape vine, I believe this is the fourth year, FINALLY bears fruit. Yeaaaayyyy! They're concord grapes. This is my second year with my honeysuckle, no foliar problems at all and it looks beautiful. I actually planted a clematis with it, and they're both doing well so far, though I read that honeysuckles don't like to share root space. The rest of my clematis, and this is only my second year, are also doing well. I don't get to enjoy blooms until later in the season - clematis forum says to keep pruning back the first two to three years until the end of July? (I can't remember exactly) to promote root development. They are definitely fuller this year, and the blooms last year were beautiful. I have 20+ clematis (I lost count) on less than 1/8 acre lot! LOL. Most of them are planted along my fence lining my driveway, so when they are full grown it will look stunning. I also planted a climbing hydrangea alongside my house last year, it is doing well. The only problem is it will sit there for the next 4-5 years before it will take off, but I was told once it does, it's a stunner. And it doesn't damage mortar.