The
'sweet clematis', also known in Victorian times as 'Traveller's
Joy' and 'Virgin's Bower', was a common sight in England's
roadside hedgerows (thus the Traveller's Joy) where
it was considered something of a weed. Kent and Buckinghamshire
were the counties where the roadside clematis flowered
at its most glorious where it wove fantastic garlands
about thorn trees and blackberry bushes when it wasn't
rioting through the hedgerows. Field mice were said
to love the soft, silky down of its seed cases.
the
common clematis could generally withstand the British
winters, although severe frost might kill it. Overall
it liked moist, cool soil for its roots and sunshine
for its leaves and flowers.
Victorians
loved to plant clematis so that it rambled over potting
sheds, trellises and arbors, but they also liked to
have it as a bedding plant, especially in rockeries.
By
the late Victorian age new hybrid varieties were coming
out with huge brightly coloured and striped flowers,
the Jackmanni being the most widely known variety.
Gardeners
were advised to cut clematis down to a few feet above
the ground after a few years to promote new and vigorous
growth. Clematis 'ran out' after about 10-20 years,
and then it was advisable to dig them out, refresh the
soil, and start with a new plant.
One
of the best showings of clematis was to be found at
the entrance to the nurseries of Mr Richard Smith, St
John's, Worcester. "here, amidst the richest green
of coniferous trees, grass lawns and banks of ivy,,
we behold a great hemisphere of the richest violet-blue
which may be likened to the mighty shield of a war-like
wanderer from Olympus."
See
also purple clematis.
