Clematis (_Virgin's Bower_), derives its name from _klema_, a
vine-branch. The popular name, Virgin's Bower, was given to _Clematis
Viticella_ upon its introduction into England during the reign of
Elizabeth, 1569, and was intended as a compliment to that sovereign, who
liked to be called the Virgin Queen.
There are, it is said, two hundred and thirty described species, the
majority of them free-growing, hardy climbers. They are among the most
gorgeous perpetual-blooming of the class under consideration. Great
improvements have been made during the past twenty-five years by
hybridization, but the finest varieties have originated within ten
years. Of the new English hybrids _Jackmanii_ stands in the front rank.
The flowers are from five to six inches in diameter, and consist of from
four to six sepals which have a ribbed bar down the center; the color
is of an intense violet-purple, remarkable for its velvety richness, and
a shading of reddish-purple toward the base, and they are furnished with
a broad central tuft of pale green stamens. It originated with Jackman &
Son, England, and was first exhibited at Kensington, 1872. It is a cross
between _Clematis Viticella_ and _Clematis Lanuginasa_. From this cross
many excellent seedlings have been raised, closely resembling the parent
stock in color and general character.
Of Jackman's Clematises the English _Gardener_ has the following: "They
are magnificent; and more than this, they do give us some of the
grandest things in the way of creepers the horticultural world has ever
seen, making glorious ornaments either for walls, verandas, or rustic
poles or pillars, varying in color from deep rich violet hue to dark
velvety maroon, and in the newer seedlings, forms beautiful shades of
pale bright blue."
Mr. Vick says of the Clematis: "Having a rather unsightly pile of stones
in the back part of our grounds, we had them thrown together more in the
form of a stone-heap, perhaps, than of anything worthy of the name of
rockery, and planted _Jackmanii_ and other fine sorts in the crevices,
and for three summers this stone-heap has been covered most gorgeously.
Thousands of flowers, in fact a mound of flowers, every day for months,
has been the delight of visitors, causing one to exclaim, 'Nothing since
Paradise has been more beautiful.'"
These fine hybrids will endure our Northern winters if somewhat
protected. A gentleman in Rochester, N. Y., had a Jackmanii which bore
full exposure without protection and came out in the spring uninjured to
the height of nine feet. The extremities of the shoots for about two
feet were winter-killed.
_Clematis Sieboldii_ is a native of Japan, whence it was introduced by
Mr. Low in 1837. It is of a slender free-growing habit. "The flowers
which are produced from July to September are composed of six ovate
sepals of a creamy white color, which form a fine background for the
large rosette of purple stamens which occupy the center and render the
flowers particularly attractive."
_Clematis graveolins_ is a native of the mountains of Thibet. It is of
comparative recent introduction. The flowers are produced on long stalks
at the axils of the leaves, and are of a light yellow--an unusual color
in this genus. It grows to the height of from ten to fifteen feet, and
blooms freely during the entire season.
A lady writes to Vick's Magazine that she has a Clematis graveolins
which is a wonderful sight. It grew from a feeble plant planted out in
spring, two inches in height, into a column twelve feet high and three
feet broad by August, and was a mass of yellow blossoms, and then, of
the most exquisite, long-haired, silvery seed pods until hard frost. It
lived through the winter, to its extreme tips, and then grew so rapidly,
shading such an important part of her garden, that she had to remove it
in the autumn, cutting it back severely. The seedlings from it grow, she
adds, to eight or ten feet in a season.
_Clematis crispa_ is of Southern origin; the flowers are one and a half
inches long, produced singly on long stalks, and delightfully fragrant,
a rapid grower, and perfectly hardy. _Clematis coccinea_ is of recent
introduction from Texas, the flowers are bell-shaped, of a most
brilliant scarlet, and are produced in great abundance. This rare
variety is offered only by Woolson & Co., Passaic Falls, N. J., who make
a specialty of hardy herbaceous plants. _Vesta_, a Jackman, is large and
of fine form; dead white, with a creamy tinge over the center bar,
delicate primrose fragrance, an early bloomer. _Mrs. James Bateman_,
pale lavender, and _Thomas Moore_, violet, superb, are Jackman
seedlings, which flower in the summer and autumn, successionally, in
masses, on summer shoots. These are all high priced. Many fine sorts can
be purchased at prices ranging from thirty cents to one dollar.
The Clematis requires only ordinary garden soil. Where there are severe
winters it is best to give the young plants at least some protection.
They can be propagated by layering, which is rather a slow method, or
rapidly by seed.