Beginner Gardening: clematis question - support, 2 by etnredclay

etnredclay wrote:
OK, minor high-jacking here. Heather,

Yes, scratch the surface of any hill around here and it's ORANGE clay most of the time, palid orange mixed with chunks of white limestone, sometimes we call it churt. Now, in the flats, we have a foot, sometimes 15 feet, of rich red clay soil... because in the past, someone would get the brilliant idea to strip-harvest the hills of the trees and the good soil would all wash down into the flats.

I have both. But the house is half-way up the hill, so basically, if I want to PLANT something -- like clematis -- I have to bring in soil... and since we're all on a hill, I have to either terrace or build raised beds.

Now, when I plant down below on the flat, it's stick a shovel in it and plant, baby. Mulch, water, and walk away. That's it. EVERYTHING grows. But it's a long ways from the house, a long ways from water, and although I get to see it when I'm driving in or out, I prefer to have the majority of my plants up near the house so I can water and prune and harvest and sniff and enjoy when I'm around the house.