Clematis good and evil

Clematis Montana

Proposals for Building a Cottage
by John Clare

A little garden not too fine,
Enclose with painted pales;
And woodbines round the cot to twine,
Pin to the wall with nails.

Let hazels grow and spindling sedge,
Bent bowering overhead;
Dig old man's beard from woodland hedge,
To twine a summer shade.

This pretty white Clematis Montana we have blooming now is not the same Clematis as the "old man's beard" or "woodbine" in John Clare's poem. These are both common names for another variety of clematis called vitalba, which grows wild in English hedgerows and is considered an invasive species here. The name "old man's beard" comes from the feathery gray seed fluff that flies everywhere after the flowers have faded. In literature, it is often referred to as "traveler's joy" because it grows along roads and paths.

On weekends in Seattle, you sometimes see hard-working crews of volunteers from environmental organizations pulling it off tree trunks in greenbelts and parks. Along with English ivy-- another unwelcome British tree strangler.

Our little wood gazebo in the corner of the yard is slowly reverting back to nature, so I let the trashy vitalba cover it completely in the summer. It makes a nice effect. The vines are soft and brittle (no thorns) so sometimes I crawl in there with a glass of wine and hide.

Anyway, there are over 200 species of Clematis-- just Google "clematis images" to see the dizzy variety of color, shape and form.