For those of you who are gardeners, don’t you just love to discover pleasant surprises in your yard? Maybe an unexpected bloom? Or a plant that you thought was “gone forever” is suddenly thriving?
Several years ago, I bought a whitewashed iron trellis to place on our deck in front of the chimney. And I bought a clematis to grow on the trellis. I’ve never had any luck with clematis; I think this one may have bloomed for a short while the first year. And since then it really hasn’t been impressive, meaning it was done after having one or two flowers at the beginning of spring.
Saturday I was in the yard putting down mothballs to deter the bunnies and deer from some of my plants, and I glanced up at the deck. This was the jawdropping moment.
Clematis have gorgeous flowers.
I would love to think this will be covered in blooms all summer, like my neighbor’s clematis, but I think I know better.
But here’s what is even more surprising than finding these blooms: the clematis I planted was white.
these days of mine 
Surprise! Now I know for sure you have a green thumb. Absolutely gorgeous flower.
You never know what’s going to come up in a garden!! Beautiful…what a nice surprise.
Yes! this is also beautiful and burgundy I think!!!! Now where did the white go????? Is this planted in the ground or in a pot???? There is no telling what your green thumb might do—–
Oh my gosh! That is really an exciting surprise. It it just gorgeous. I love, love, love the white trellis agaisnt the brick. So very pretty.
I have one like this but no pretty trellis for it to grow on, so it just tangles around itself. I also had a white autumn blooming clematis; now I’ve cut it back to the ground because it was trying to take over everything around it. Yours is beautiful!!
Green thumb + white clematis = burgundy jawdropper!
Beautiful, just beautiful. AND a surprise ending to your story!
That’s funny! What a shocker, was it white the first time it bloomed? I also think the trellis is a beautiful one plus those flowers are so pretty.
p.s. I think your “Currently Blooming” picture is a fantastic idea! Do you mind if I steal it once stuff starts blooming here?
Yes, it’s been white the few times that it has bloomed! And, yes, please, I would consider it a compliment for you to also have a “currently blooming” photo on your blog!
i like marshall’s comment. 🙂
it’s beautiful!!!
I did too texwisgirl and I forgot to say so! 😉
Very nice. I have a black thumb. I pretty much kill or destroy any plant I touch. I recently bought 2 ferns to hang outside the house and thought if I watered them everyday, they would be ok… well, I didn’t know that the leaves burn so easily in the sun and now the front of the ferns are all burnt but the backside is lush and green… I wish I could live in a cottage like some of the disney characters where the outside of cottage is covered in vines and flowers… that would be my dream home 🙂
What a lovely surprise! I’ve had some surprises, but nothing like that! I saw an iron trellis in Old Town, and wished we had a place to mount one. Yours is beautiful.
Don’t feel bad, I have one working on its 3rd year and has never had a bloom. Last year the kittens could get under the trellis and cut it off, this year they are too big. Ha, now it is mine and will bloom. I forgot what color it is.
Yours is very beautiful
I love surprises like this! Your clematis is fabulous. I tried to grow a ‘Nelly Moser’ once upon a time, when it finally bloomed it was a deep purple. I was really upset about it. The purple was okay, but I wasn’t happy with it. If it had of been as beautiful as yours I would have loved it. I think the folks that grow them to sell get lazy sometimes on the packaging. 😉
What a glorious day it is when the garden gives us unexpected surprises! What beautiful color. Maybe a bird left you a fly by present in the form of purple clematis? I have a meyer lemon tree that is half meyer and half regular lemon – very strange. The regular lemon part of the tree started growing about a year after we bought it. Definitely surprising!
Thanks everyone! I spoke with an employee at the local nursery, and she said that clematis will change color depending the soil. Kind of like a hydrangea, I suppose.
I’m shocked! That’s just crazy. Thanks for talking with your nursery and solving the mystery for all of us!
Yes, surprising, wonderful and gorgeous! Thank you for snapping a picture for us.
Wow- Great surprise! We have two of these climbing on our porch, however, they have never changed color. It’s very, very, difficult to grow anything here in the plains of SE Colorado-we have horrible wind, severe drought, late freeze, etc. But…the clematis always is beautiful.
Wow, I must be smarter than I thought because I thought of the soil content/ hydrangea before I saw your comment! I bought 5 clematis at Lowe’s at end of season for $1 each about 5 year ago. They were kind of puny looking and I didn’t have much hope, but they all survived and bloom abundantly once a year. Guess it must be a particular kind that blooms all summer.
That’s a clematis ‘Bourbon’. It’s a type 2 clematis. It blooms on old wood. It blooms in the spring and then again in the fall if your season is long enough. Clematis can grow from a small amount of roots. There must have been some Bourbon roots in the pot you planted (not unheard of). I am surprised that someone in the profession told you that it can change color with soil ph bc that is not true. Yes, some can be darker or lighter depending on growing conditions and sunlight but I can promise you that a clematis ‘Bourbon’ will NEVER bloom white. I grow almost 100 clematis and my Bourbon never fades. It’s a beautiful flower!
Ps, if you want a clematis to bloom all summer like your neighbor’s, try a type 3. They bloom later on ‘new wood’ but can bloom most of the summer. Some are better than others. If your want a white I recommend Huldine. It blooms all summer or me with stunning flowers. Just cut it down to 6 inches each spring and with it take off. Just remember they “sleep, creep, leap”. Don’t give up too soon. They take at least yrs to get going!