Clematis is a delightful backyard feast for the eyes

Before we moved to Washington we had never even heard of Clematis. Still can't pronounce it. 

kleh·muh·tuhs 

We don't care, it's still by far the most beautiful flowering vine of all.

Ours are full of buds right now and we can't wait for the explosion of flowers.  We don't know the exact type of Clematis we have because it was here before we moved in but we think it's part of the early large flowering group.

Here are some helpful Clematis resources

Garden Gear - If you're local to Edmonds WA you will find this an extremely fun garden resource. They may not have Clematis specifically but we promise this shop is worth the stop.

Wikipedia - This is a great place to start if you want to get into the really nerdy, botany details.  For example: 

Clematis is a genus of about 300 species^[2] within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners,^[3] beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin. Most species are known as clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, a name invented for the sole British native, C. vitalba, by the herbalist John Gerard; virgin's bower for C. terniflora, C. virginiana, and C. viticella; old man's beard, applied to several with prominent seedheads; leather flower for those with fleshy petals; or vase vine for the North American Clematis viorna.

Sky Nursery is another local shop where we have purchased some beautiful Clematis and Passion Flower as well.

Brushwood - These folks claim to be Clematis specialists.  Have not tried them yet but looks like a great place to shop Clematis by mail.