Companions to Clematis by Marigold Badcock

Although this eminently sensible book will obviously appeal to lovers of clematis, it will also make converts of the unenlightened, and is invaluable to anyone who aims to prolong the season of interest in the garden.

GOOD IDEAS

After a brief introduction, there is an encyclopaedic description of the various clematis groups and their members, well laid out in table form. This could, to my mind, be improved by the cultivars being divided up according to colour, rather than just alphabetically, but gardeners who know their clematis better than I should not find this a problem. There follows a chapter on cultivation, including a nice simple guide to pruning and a helpful pep-talk on the dreaded clematis wilt, then it's on to the main event, with three chapters on combining clematis with other plants in spring, summer and autumn. And what a lot of good ideas the author comes up with - not just the classic C. 'Perle d'Azur' with Rosa 'New Dawn' - but a host of original ideas making the most of seedheads and foliage as well as flower form and colour. This is certainly a book to tempt the gardener into experimenting - I'm already making some plans.

MCS, July 2000

****

176 pages, colour photographs and line drawings, £14.95
ISBN 1-86108-151-0, Published by GMC Publications
Published 2000

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