Clematis through a shrub?

Some advice please.  I have a large Chimonanthes Praecox which, at this time of year, is a great joy but for the rest of the year it is very dull and not very interesting at all.  I am thinking of planting a climber, perhaps  a summer flowering clematis to give it a second season of interest but under no circumstances would I want any harm to come to the wintersweet.  Has any one else done this?  What success did you have.  What sort of climber would you reccomend?  If you have room for it and don't mind the dull green leaves for most of the year I would thoroughly reccommend Chimonanthes.  On still sunny days it scents the air for many yards and one or two twigs in the house brought into the house......delicious.  It grows very easily from seed.

Hello Pansy2,

I agree, Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet) is one of the loveliest things in the winter garden. I would like to recommend annual / tender climbers to you. They will die in the winter so there is no danger of them covering your wintersweet when you want to enjoy the flowers. Because they only have one season of growth, they find it hard to dominate other plants. There is always a risk with climbers that they might smother the rest of the garden! Some lovely annual / tender climbers to consider are:

Ipomoea tricolor (morning glory)

Ipomoea lobata (Spanish flag)

Eccrenocarpus scaber (chilean glory flower)

Cobaea scandens (cup and saucer plant)

Thunbergia alata (black-eyed susan)

Seeds of these are readily available. Let us know how your wintersweet does this year.

Emma.

gardenersworld.com team