Here is the fremontii bloom today. Also above it in the same picture you can see another bud starting to form. Here is an overview of that pot that contains the fremontii, socialis, and two hirsutissimas that have not done much for me and I am ready to toss out. The socialis looks like a scrambler because it has moved around quite a bit in its pot and has 11-12 buds on it right now on its many branches. Here is the pot where I planted what is supposed to be a pink clematis stans and a seedling of Hanajima, along with some basil, fennel, dill, and nasturtiums that I stared all from seed. Things are really popping here within the last few weeks. My Tie Dye is now as tall as I am and others in that same bed are coming along nicely as well. Here is another area where some are further along. In that bed is another fremontii but it has yet to emerge. The ochroleuca that I thought I had lost is up as well and has a fuzzy little bud forming. My picture was taken with my older camera so it came out a bit too fuzzy for me to consider posting.

Did some searching on the internet and now not sure its Star of India although that's what it was labelled when I bought it. Its is a group 2 tho.

Oh, as for the heuchera. Its kind of in a strange spot, the south side of my house but tucked up against a small nook/eastern facing wall that goes towards my front door. I really want to say that, during summer.... mmm, somewhere between full sun and partial shade. Soil is pretty clay heavy fyi, this part of indiana is really bad for that, though with the way the land is shaped water doesn't really pool near these plants.

I'm a she (Babs is short for Barbara). I live on a farm, so I don't have photos of the whole garden, since it's spread out over various areas around the house and out buildings with at least a few clematis in most of the beds. Most of my beds are large, with mixed shrubs and perennials since almost half our year is winter, so I like having something that looks nice year round. I've been smitten with clematis, and grow them both into shrubs and onto various trellises. I'll pop up a few photos, including some of the less commonly seen ones that do really well for me. I'm partial to the summer bloomers (type 3, hard prune) since there's less going on in the garden then and they are really easy to grow. I also have several early spring bloomers (type 1, no pruning needed) and only a few type 2. Neither the type 1 or type 3 are likely to get clematis wilt and are prolific growers and bloomers for me. Seedheads of 'Stolwijk Gold' (prune 1) which blooms in May for me with steely blue flowers. On the right are a few vines of an unnamed pink bell that blooms midsummer. Here's the pink bell in bloom with just a few fading flowers of Avant Garde near the bottom. Both are relatively small but lovely, and the bumblebees love the bells. (prune 3) Mikelite (prune 3) blooms for a really long time for me, and is faster to start blooming. I love the flower color with the paler petal center and the big boss of stamens. HF Young is one of my few type 2's, and is relatively common. It is a really full bloomer, and the color varies some with the light it's seen in, looking more lavender in brighter light. My favorite dark purple, Viola, shares a large shrub with Betty Corning, both type 3. When I combine 2 or more clematis, I match pruning types to make it easy. The spicebush (Lindera benzoin) that they grow on isn't a good choice since the branches are too flexible. I've done best using plants with stiff branches like lilacs and hydrangeas. My only problem growing clematis has been that the voles really like eating them, both summer and winter. After trying a lot of repellants, I've ended up planting them in circles of hardware cloth, wire mesh with 1/4" openings, and that seems to help. My Little Bas got eaten, so I've just replaced it (in a circle of wire mesh) with another. I like the way they look on the lacier types of H. paniculata. Here's the old one with Hydrangea paniculata Quickfire just starting to open buds. Finally, two of my earliest purchases that are still favorites, Ville de Lyon and Venosa Violacea. The left side of this bed is only a year or so old, and the clematis are still on temporary bamboo trellises. It runs parallel to our rural road, and so it's at least partly for the pleasure of those driving by. This is my largest bed and the clematis show up best if you get close to it; several of the photos above came from this bed. I don't have any whole bed photos when the clematis are in bloom, at least partly since they are planted on all sides, and so I couldn't take photos where many showed at once.