British Columbia: another clematis question

hello everyone,

I'm looking for suggestions for some clematis to plant along an 8 foot high chocolate brown fence which faces south. The area gets full sun from early morning until late afternoon. I have about 18 feet of planting space. To keep the roots in shade, I have a zebra grass, viburnum 'Spring Bouquet', aconitum carmichaelii 'Arendsii', euphorbia 'Shorty', berberis 'Roseglow', callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion', and a 5 ft Rhodo 'Jingle Bells'.

If I have a colour scheme for the entire garden, I'd say it was in the pinks, purples, creams and greens. I love the colour of the berberis but it 'hides' in front of the chocolate brown fence. It definitely needs a clematis behind it to make it 'pop'!

I think I'd like to plant 3 clematis, hopefully achieving bloom from Spring to Autumn. Please could I have some suggestions and recommendations for some strong, reliable clematis which are suitable for the Nanaimo/Vancouver Island area? thanks!

 

An early clematis that would work well with your colour scheme of pinks and brown (love that combo!) would be the 'Montana' - hardy, no pruning required except for shaping, prolific growth and masses of pink blossoms in early spring. As a bonus, hummingbirds love the down of the flowers for their nests... the attached photo shows two Montana's on a south facing trellis on the Sunshine Coast; very similar to your growing conditions. The sun beats on the roots, they get very little water and we only cut them back when they block the view! Very easy to grow and a splendid annual show.