Clematis: The Garden Compliment to the Rose   
By Judy Fender  

     Discerning gardeners have long known the beauties of clematis. You can see them regularly entwined among roses and peeking from trellises and arbors. The main bloom time is spring and summer, although our North Texas weather allows for blooms well into the fall season. The bloom in some species of clematis is followed by silky, decorative seed tassels.

Actually, the true flower of the clematis is not the showy, colorful petals, which are, in fact, petal-like sepals surrounding the clustered true flowers.
The vines climb by coiling their leafstalks around string, wire, branches of other plants, or trellises. They need good soil and watering, so they complement the rose’s requirements without much effort.

The ideal planting location is to have the top growth in the sun and the leaves and roots shaded below. To see a clematis peeking from a rose bush is always a treat to the gardener’s eyes.

Old favorites are the sky blue “Ramona,” originally raised in Holland in 1874, and the lilac pink “Nelly Moser,” introduced in France in 1897. There are so many new varieties to enchant the gardener also.

Visit our selection and find a clematis to add to your garden, entwine in a rose bush, or plant on a trellis or fence. We carry both Ramona and Nelly Moser in our selections.

By Carolyn Oldham

The hummingbird’s world centers on flowers. In fact, a “hummer” consumes half its weight in sugar each day, visiting flowers an average of 2,000 times. To attract these incredible flying machines to your garden, think habitat first. The key is diversity — offer lots of flowers that bloom at different times.

Certain plants are a must. They include all Salvias, Firebush, Cypress Vine, Flame Acanthus, Penta, and Turk’s Cap. Create different levels of vegetation which offer hummers a choice of where to feed and perch. Plant more than one flowerbed so that one hummingbird can’t dominate the entire garden. While 90 percent of their diet is nectar, 10 percent is insects. Avoid pesticides in the hummingbird garden.

Hang your hummingbird feeder in a shady spot if possible and change the sugar water every 2-3 days. (Molds can grow in the sugar water and make the little hummers sick.) The best recipe is 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Put your feeder out in April when hummers first arrive in our area. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t arrive immediately. Regular visits usually begin in July, and it will take time for them to discover your feeder(s).

There are 340 species of hummingbirds in the world; 19, in North America, 2 of which we see regularly in the Dallas area. The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common, while the black-chinned is less common.

Come visit us and let us help you create your own hummingbird garden to enjoy this coming spring and summer! You’ll be glad you did when you see the first small jewel hover near your plants and feeders.