Snippets

Carole's Garden Clematis Nursery

Award winners at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2003 and 2004

2008

As I write this in late November, a little rain has fallen and refreshed the garden. The roses in the garden, and especially on the archways have been, and still are superb, and there is now a carpet of rose petals on the ground beneath them. Deadheading and feeding is needed now to promote new flowering on both the clematis and the roses. Very little water is given to these plants, and they are doing very well.

David and I are now hobby beekeepers, and share our spare time between the garden and our bees. The difference between each batch of honey taken off is quite marked, some being citrus, and at other times from trees and shrubs. This interesting hobby assists our fruit trees, and we had more fruit than we could use last year. We find that gently tending our bees helps us to forget the worries of the world for a time, and rewards us with the satisfaction of the pure honey and sometimes honeycomb that we harvest. Beekeeping is something I always wanted to do, but didn't get around to. After visiting an uncle with a home beehive 3 years ago, I was convinced it was a good thing to do. We are now part of the monitoring group of beekeepers, working with the Dept of Primary Industry and checking for exotic pests, especially the varroa mite.

Some welcome winter rain has helped the garden, with very little plant losses due to the dry conditions last summer. The clematis have proven to be really drought tolerant plants, and the few plants which showed stress last summer bounced back after the good soaking rains of the last month. The garden received very little in the way of supplementary watering last year, and the roses are looking very healthy. David pruned most of the roses this winter. The garden is heavily mulched with wood chips, which is saving water and keeping the roots cool.

Sales of bare rooted clematis were brisk this year, with many lines sold out. The bare rooted season has now closed. New plants in the 10cm square pots will be ready in the spring.

Clematis plants on the East/west fence are clumping up and promise to give a colourful display this year. These plants are growing in fairly harsh conditions and will not be shaded until the buxus hedge to the north of them establishes. Many of these clematis flowered well into late autumn/winter.

Tasks for this month - November Feeding the clematis with rose food, making sure the food doesn't come into contact with the stems of the plants. Any stems need to be trained in to supports as soon as they grow in order to keep plants growing well. Stems that wave in the wind slow down their growth, and also get damaged by the wind. Deadhead any spent flowers to promote new growth and more flowers.

2007

The drought is having little effect on the clematis, and many of ours are in areas that get watered only a couple of times a year, apart from what rain falls. We have now started planting clematis on an east/west fence going right across the property. A metre on the northern side we have planted a buxus hedge to give the clematis roots a little protection from the north for sun and wind. The clematis have been in here less than a year, and are beginning to flower and come up the fence. Clematis have proven to be particularly drought resistant, probably due to their fleshy roots being able to store water. Clematis also have the ability to recover from wilting by growing again, usually more bushy, from the base if given time.

David and I decided not to have an open weekend this year, but plan for more in the future. The number of disappointed phone enquiries told us just how popular the weekend is to clematis gardeners. We are constantly working on the garden to extend and improve it. The roses and clematis are currently flowering beautifully together as I write now (early November). The archways are in full flower, although Rosa Wedding Day is still to open. We have also planted a border of many different wisteria along the western edge of the car park. These wisteria will be grown as shrubs, and be kept small. Most flowered this year, although the plants are still small.

The 2005 open day

The Open Weekend was again a very popular event with many Clematis questions answered and ooh's and aah's over the clematis and climbing rose display arches.

This year we also served tea and coffee for the thirsty patrons, with the complements of two visiting Welsh clematarians who were guests of the nursery.

Again there was no charge for entry. Ribbons and pins for Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Day were on sale as usual for this very worthy cause.

Entry was again by donation to the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Fund, and $384.70 was collected at the gate which surpassed last years figure of $257.25

Brand New Clematis 'Adrian James' PBR

We have now approval for PBR of a stunning new Australian clematis variety. Named Clematis 'Adrian James', after our late son Adrian, (killed in tragic circumstances in late May) we will be releasing this cultivar in time for the MIFGS 2005. Clematis 'Adrian James' first flowers as a reddish blue with a distinct red bar towards the centre of the flower, in early spring. As the flowering progresses towards summer, the bar recedes and the colour changes to a deep velvety reddish purple. Flowers are up to 20cm in diameter and the plant is very free flowering. Stamens are dark grey/purple, with purple connectives and white filaments. The prominent feathery carpels are white. The sepals and stamens recurve gracefully as the flower opens. Possibly a cross between C. Jackmannii Superba and C. The President, the plant exhibits good vigour and has remained stable in the 6 years since first flowering. Pruning group 2 as C. 'Adrian James' flowers on both old and new wood. Height in excess of 2.5mtrs. We are very proud of this new Australian cultivar.

To view Clematis 'Adrian James' PBR click here

The 2005 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

The 2004 MIFGS was a repeat of the success of the 2003 show. Many new customers were met, along with being able to put faces to the names of some more of our mail order customers. Thanks to all who made themselves known to us. It was an exhausting few days for Dave, I and our staff, but a great experience. Setting up takes several days, though pulling down is a lot less work. Our efforts were rewarded with another award. The "clematis butterfly" was a lot of work, both for Dave constructing it, and my work to fill it with flowers. It was incredibly heavy with the floral foam full of water. Most of the clematis flowers lasted from Tuesday to Sunday, in the wind and the sun, very few needing replacement. So many photos were taken by delighted patrons. Clematis are great for flower arranging as well as being admired growing in the garden.

We will again have a stand at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2005 Stand A08 at the northern end of Rathdowne St.

IPPS Conference in New Zealand April 2004

In April 2004 Carole was asked to present a paper on 'Clematis Propagation in Australia', at the International Plant Propagators Society Conference held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Carole outlined two methods of propagation she has found successful and not documented in any present literature. Copies of the paper outlining these methods are available through the IPPS Australia.

The 2003 and 2004 open days

The November 2003 open day was a great success, despite having to pull several cars out of the boggy conditions that the heavy rain created in the car park. A steady stream of people to view the clematis kept Dave and I busy all day, despite the heavy rain. The sales area was visited by most of the clematis viewers, and enquiries on cultivation and varieties available came in constantly. Many people were again returning after our previous open days.

There was no charge for entry. Ribbons and pins for Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Day were on sale, a very worthy cause.

An open day was also held in 2004, under much more favourable weather conditions. Entry was again by donation to the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Fund, and $257.25 was collected at the gate

Clematis Archways.

The clematis/rose archways are now well established. The roses are forming a tunnel, and joining up with each other, providing a shady and fragrantly delightful walkway. Beneath the most established roses, the clematis are best. Those growing in more open situations are somewhat slower. The roses are providing some much needed shade for the clematis plants in what is an otherwise less than ideal site for clematis here in Melbourne. Last year's drought conditions had little effect on the clematis, and they survived remarkably well despite meagre waterings. Clematis Aumann was again a mass of huge blue flowers with gold stamens in early spring. Miss Falconer is producing her summer long waterfall effect with her large pale lavender flowers, and The President has performed extremely well, especially in pots.

The clematis are going into their 6th year next spring. We look forward to many years of flowers from them. Clematis are usually very long lived plants.

Rose Gardens

The rose garden bordering the car park is now in full flower, and the roses are excellent this year. More roses have been planted in the last 2 weeks in front of the house in a new bed. The existing front rose garden is now well established, and the roses, as with those of the car park, are large and fragrant. Crepuscule now nearly covers the gazebo and is in full flower. The bush roses were all pruned last year, but the climbers left unpruned due to lack of time. We will prune them as we pick flowers for the house, and bring them back into line. The birds are enjoying the rose hips!

With the sandy loam over the clay base here, drainage can be a problem, so all garden beds are raised above the surrounding lawn area, using either recycled potting compost from the nursery, or home made compost, to increase the humus content of the sandy loam. No soils are being brought in, though recycled mulching materials are purchased for use on the garden beds. The gardens this summer have been watered with recycled water from the dam.

Pruning for Winter

The climbing roses will be given a light prune this winter, but the major project will be to train them from arch to arch to create a continuous tunnel, which will provide much needed shade for the clematis roots. By training the climbing stems of the roses down to near horizontal, the dormant buds on the stems will break into flowers early next year, providing a flowering shoot from nearly each bud.

The group 2 clematis will be pruned lightly this winter. This means only a light prune to clean up dead stems, so that plants like Vyvyan Pennell that flower double on the previous year's wood, will flower well on this old wood. The second flush of single flowers on the current seasons growth follows in the early summer. In the first year, all the plants were pruned hard to establish a thicker crown. Group 3 clematis will be cut back to about 50cm from the ground, as they are the group which flowers on the current seasons growth. (New wood).

Last summer was difficult for some of the clematis, due to hot winds drying out the leaves faster than the roots could replace this moisture. Several of the plants wilted down, but all except Lasurstern recovered to flower well later. The archways on which they are planted is located North/South, and acts as a tunnel for the northerly hot winds. A wind break will be placed at the northern end later to limit the wind. Ramona, Fair Rosamond (fragrant), and William Kennett have been particularly floriferous this year. Gypsy Queen is starting to show her rich burgundy flowers along with climbing yellow roses. Combined with the climbing rose Golden Showers, Gypsy Queen looked spectacular. Clematis Ville de Lyon also combined extremely well with the climbing rose Peace. The pink edges of the Peace rose matching the colour of the clematis so well. The photograph of C. Ville de Lyon pictured in the April Gardening Australia magazine was taken by me last year on one of the arches. Clematis Comtesse de Bouchaud is spectacular in late summer and autumn with clusters of medium sized dusky pink flowers over a long period through to early winter.

Clematis plants are actually tougher than most plants in these dry conditions. Two 14cm pots of C. Beauty of Worcester were put out for planting, and forgotten for 2 weeks last summer. Found 'totally dead', the tops were cut off, and the pots returned to the benches. 1 week later, the plants were showing new green shoots and completely recovered to flower. I think that the thick fleshy roots act as storage organs, and keep the plant alive in dry times.

Rabbits have also been a problem here, eating the clematis plants off at ground level. If the plants are correctly planted with several nodes below the ground, these plants recover with actually bushier growth. Those plants vulnerable to rabbit damage are being protected with wire.

Happy Gardening

Carole and David