I have gardened for many years but I had never seen a real live clematis till recently. I had seen pictures of different types of clematis but I had never seen a real clematis in bloom. That is – until we came to live in Gauteng.

We used to live at the coast – and clematis didn’t seem to be top of the list there.

Then one day at a garden display I saw this exquisite clematis plant with three of the most heavenly blue plate-sized blooms.

Suffice it to say that I was blown away – and of course I had to have it.

So I bought this very expensive clematis plant. It was very young and delicate so I looked after it with the greatest of care.  I watched every leaf bud open. Read more →