Red Clematis 'Earnest Markham'

Red Clematis 'Earnest Markham'

The red-flowering Clematis 'Earnest Markham' has one of the longest bloom periods in our garden compared to our other clematis. This year it lasted over 5 weeks, beginning in early May and still going strong in early June for our garden party. It is planted near the back yard fence and with some help in the first year to make it up the fence with a small stake and some fishing line, it was soon covering the pickets in pretty rosy blooms.

One line always plays in my mind when choosing a place for my clematis:

Plant their feet in the shade and make room for their heads in the sun.  

This maxim has never let me down. When I have dared to defy it by planting my clematis with no shade for its root ball, death was imminent.

When you plant Clematis, be sure to dig the hole a bit deeper and wider than your pot and back-fill it with some rich organic matter, such as some purchased mushroom compost or your own thoroughly decomposed grass and leaf litter.  Be sure the crown of the plant is at the soil surface after watering it, not sunken too deep. In an exposed location, provide shade by planting a low perennial nearby.

Here are some more photos of Clematis 'Earnest Markham' in our garden in May...

Clematis 'Earnest Markham' on the fence looking toward the Shade Path garden with yellow foxgloves in bloom, Digitalis grandiflora.

Clematis 'Earnest Markham' is a pink-red shade which happily combines with many other perennials.

Clematis 'Earnest Markham' in the evening sun.

The Fence garden combination for May: Clematis 'Earnest Markham' with tall dame's rockets (Hesperis matronalis) and Allium 'Purple Sensation' in a pot.

One more of Clematis 'Earnest Markham' at the evening golden hour.