Shrubs to hide ugly clematis stems

[M0rePens]

Any ideas?

If you prune clematis as recommended you won’t have the bare stems - I cut mine back to 12” and the regrowth is from the base.

Ok will try but would still like a shrub in the area round it.

A climbing rose you can train to twist through stems, pink wild one think it's called Rosa lagosa or similar small pink flowers.

Lambs Ear is hardy, a great colour and soft.
It's other name is Stachys bizantina.

This -

www.rhs.org.uk/plants/96928/euonymus-fortunei-emerald-n-gold-(v)/details

Lovely all year round.

A short clematis (eg from the boulevard series) to grow up the leggy clematis?

If I do that, the regrowth is taken by slugs.

I have salix gracilistyla Mount Aso in front of my clematis. The salix produces lovely pink catkins that last for ages in late winter/early spring. Also good for cut flowers (apparently was developed for the florist trade for the catkins) and can be cut back hard. In summer the clematis uses the salix for support so it looks like a flowering bush. The salix leaves are quite small and branches a bit bare, so the clematis flowers really pop.

Choisya Ternata / Mexican Orange Blossom is one of my favourite shrubs. Glossy dark leaves all year round, clusters of fragrant white flowers in spring and beyond. Responds well to being pruned to your required size and shape

I have aquilegia.

Roses are a really classic combination with clematis, though pruning can be a bit fiddly.

I’ve grown a group 3 (late summer/autumn flowering) clematis to grow alongside my Montana because it flowers on new growth so literally just needs chopping down to the ground in the early spring and then you get all the green at the bottom each year.

In terms of shrubs, you’d need something that also likes nice moist, well-fertilised soil. What about a hydrangea? Or a weigela could be nice as long as you keep the size under control.

Avoid anything that likes acidic soil because you’d never be able to keep both plants happy.