Clematis paniculata is blooming right now and you can see it along the road. It is that white fuzzy looking flower that is growing over the tops of all the other bushes and weeds. I never notice it till it blooms. The flowers smell of honey to me. It is attractive from a distance and beautiful up close. I have one growing on a fence and dripping down. Another sprawls over the crown of a white Loropetalum which alone is not too spectacular this time of year.
It is a great addition to an arrangement as it can be wound around the other flowers or allowed to trail down from the container, just like it does in nature. It holds up well in arrangements, too. But be careful if you plant it in your yard. It is likely to pop up everywhere in a few years. But then, that is not an altogether unattractive prospect. However if you like more order, you can prune the vine back after it finishes blooming and before the seed set. If you do that though, you have to weigh it against the loss of those beautiful fluffy seed heads. (Every action or inaction has consequences.)
When you push Mother Nature, she pushes back, sometimes in unexpected ways. The weather news we have been watching all day about Hurricane Gustav and remembering Katrina has pointed that out. The loss of wetlands (those yucky weedy places) provided protection for the Louisiana coast in the past,as well as nurseries for fish, crabs, etc. But in our lust for more oil, we let oil companies dredge canals in the Louisiana wetlands, allowing salt water to move in, destroying the wetlands. In nature, nothing is isolated. The footbone is connected to the leg bone is connected to the hip bone....
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