Karen, good for you, I think. Wait until it takes over everything. I've said in previous posts that I had to move mine twice as it was just oncontrollable and because of my zone, did not get as many flowers as it got too cold. I finally replanted it in a shady, dry spot under an old 50 foot tall blue spruce. It came up, one shoot only, but that shoot is about 10 feet tall and twining around a little wooden fence. It is impossible to kill I have discovered. I will leave it there and hope that it will eventually cover up that space and the propane tank I have there.

Clematis armandii and clematis terniflora (aka sweet autumn clematis or SAC and formerly known as clematis maximowicziana and incorrectly as clematis paniculata) are not one and the same. They are two drastically different clematis that are generally as you described. Not sure what nurseries you are seeing them listed as one and the same plant in, however I would tend to shy away from them as sources if they don't know the difference between the two. One other thing is that sweet autumn clematis and clematis texensis are also two different clematis. In fact, clematis texensis is a native species clematis from Texas with reddish blooms that blooms midsummer and clematis terniflora is a late summer/early fall blooming species clematis from China/Japan that has white blooms. Realize that C. armandii may not be totally evergreen here in NC depending on where you live. In the Kernersville area, I had one at a previous house which would often drop quite a few of its leaves in bad winters and if planted where it received a lot of northerly winds, the leaves could scorch and drop off. This clematis can often be found at farmer's market and at some of the major big box stores such as Lowes or Home Depot. Chalk Hill is no longer in business as retail seller of clematis. Dan at Brushwood Nursery normally carries it but he is out of it now. He might have it back in stock in the spring. Joy Creek has it but shipping might add prohibitively to the cost of the plant unless you have other things to order from them. I would check around your local big box stores and farmers markets and see if they have one or see if Dan at Brushwood Nursery is planning on having it available in the spring. Here is a link that might be useful: Armandii at Brushwood

I looked at my pot ghetto yesterday and Ville de Lyon, Durandii and Cezanne are blooming. All were dug up and potted due to construction on my house. Etoile Violette has a few blooms too. Due to construction, I was not able to prune, fertilize or water as much as I'd have liked this past summer. My garden overall looks like a word not allowed to be used on this message board.....:(

Your photos are excellent examples of how Sweet Autumn clematis can light up the night. And the wonderful fragrance is a bonus! Thanks for sharing.