The purple flowers at the top of the fence are from Clematis Etoile Violette, a viticella clem that is very easy to grow. It is a very dark purple which is set off well by the very pale pink of the New Dawn rose. The picture was taken June 14, 2007. The bluer purple flowers at the bottom in the shade created by the rose are Zwanenberg Blue Spiderwort (Tradescantia). I just realized that I didn't show you any of the hybrid daylilies that are in the niddle portions of the long narrow bed. Didn't want you to think that there are only the orange ditch daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) that are shown in the 1st picture! The fulvas (spreading not clumping dls) are in the northwest corner in almost total shade due to the northern exposure and an overhead tree. These started blooming this year on June 10th. The dozen hybrid daylilies in this narrow bed are all new plants and eventually I'll have to move about half of them somewhere else when they grow too crowded. So don't be too concerned about overcrowding your bulbs - most all of us overcrowd something sometimes and then have to move things around. LOL I also wanted to mention that I tried to stagger the daylily bloom (mostly July bloom) in between the early June blooming Asiatic lilies & the late July blooming Orienpets, but tried to keep most things in the same red/yellow/cream color scheme because there is bound to be some overlap. The only exception was the New Dawn rose which is at the far south end near the fence - because that's the only space I have that is big enough. She can put out 20 foot long canes which I wrap around the corner walls on both sides. She has one main flush in early June and some scattered later bloom as does the clematis. The rebloom clashes a bit with the daylilies strong colors, but not enough to matter much. I am just mentioning all this to give you an idea of the progression that goes on in the bed through the season, even though it is a very narrow bed. I still have one cream-colored daylily , copper colored helenium, Orange Perfection phlox (not really orange in color) in bloom, along with some bronze-colored mums that are just starting & some rebloom on the spiderworts and clemmies. Oh, and I forgot to mention some blue berries on the Variegated Porcelain vine which is on the wall between two of the clems. Here are some of the daylilies. With various dls blooming at slightly different times, I get some nice punches of color over a period of about 6 weeks. Not boring waiting and watching for each to show its stuff. Francois Verhaert Larry Grace Royal Frosting Ruby Spider

Thanks for the photo - it makes things much clearer. Four or five hours of sun and bright shade after that is pretty good light. I think there are some of the Salvias such as S. greggii cultivars or S. guaranitica (I love 'Black and Blue')or some of the other less hardy Salvias might work for you there. Check for height and problematic self-seeding or spreading potential in your area since it is quite different from my growing conditions. Here many of them stay around 2 1/2 feet and S. greggii is airy enough that it wouldn't block the Clematis even if it were taller. Some of the shorter Baptisias should work well also. The species and some of the older hybrids like 'Purple Smoke' can get taller than 3', but several of the newer hybrids are more like 2'. Out of bloom I find the foliage decorative. Look at Amsonias to see if any are appropriate for your area. I like A. hubrichtii for its spring flowers, feathery summer foliage, and stunning fall color. It seeds some here, but not a lot. You might find some Penstemons that will work for you in this setting to add flowers, but in general when not in bloom they aren't tall enough to block bare lower stems. Lavender or some of the colored forms of culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) might work here, and you can check out the shrubs forum to see if there are other short shrubs or subshrubs that work in your area. The TX and OK forums are pretty active and my have some suggestions for you as well. (I am assuming due the lower zone that you are farther north in TX.) I'd love to hear what you end up planting.

Look for clematis varieties that are listed as suited to container culture - not all are :-) Bigger growing vines tend to develop large root systems as well and outgrow even rather good sized containers fairly rapidly. Any good quality potting soil should work. The problem is assessing the quality :-) Not all potting soils are created equal! My first choice would be a mix that most closely resembles the gritty mix often referred to on the Container Gardening forum - this is intended for long term container culture. Unfortunately, most bagged mixes one can purchase do not have the aeration and durability of this type of mix and breakdown or compact rapidly. btw, it is a myth that adding gravel or shards in the bottom of container assists with drainage. It actually impedes or hinders good drainage and is best omitted. Containers that size filled with a consistently moist potting soil are not going anywhere, so you don't need to worry about the weight. You may not want to hear this, but growing clematis long term in containers in Texas in a pretty much full sun position may not be the best plant choice. Just something you might want to think about...... Here is a link that might be useful: best source on the Web for understanding container soils

Beachplant and Barbara, thanks for the info. Knowledge overcomes effort. I guess some might not make it. That is ok, I just want to give them a fighting chance. I am not sure what type they are but their name is Hemerocallis fulva, believe from doing a little reading they are evergreen. The Hybrids are Hemerocallis. roadsde daylillies Hybrids At least I know who can take the sun. It is a killer if you get it wrong. I would not want to be out in it all day. Forsythia and Butterfly bush are so pretty, maybe they will make it. I live back from the water now about 2 1/2 miles. I just went on a buying spree with cheap prices. I have purchase from this wholesaler before and everthing is growing very well. The wind is doing a number on my plants. I hope they adapt. We had a freeze line come within 200 yards of my house. How weird is that. My house was ok but driving to work as I went downhill on my street about 200 yards. There was frost over entire acres of yards. It did not even nip a single plant. Thank you lord. I am getting ready to plant 50 lbs of Bahia Grass for the sheep. I ran irrigation last Sunday and will put sprinkler heads on this weekend. Poor fellers, they are upset I swiped a 100 x 100 area from them. They are pretty smart. They would graze certain areas at certain time of the day and select what they wanted. Kind of like a buffet. They were managing their food source. Another nice acre of Bahia will make them happy. Thanks for the info. I do need all the help I can get. Remember I just startd back into gardening last November. I have gone from no plants to who knows how many. The eater and all of my other exotic/invasive roses received a special place, tree and fence line to grow on. I am growing Fortuniana rose for rootstock. Jim