One of the things about walking close to home is you see new things – this beautiful, white clematis, for example, growing almost in a heart shape around the entrance to a stone-built terraced house. Many a wedding venue would love to have a photo op like this!
I dashed across the street to take a closer look and was amazed by its perfection. Every bloom looked silky, uniformly open. Together they were smothering the whole plant, with only a few leaves and stick-like woody bits showing at the base.
Suddenly suspicious, I started to question whether I was (silently) going into raptures over a fake, fabric plant, hung to brighten up the doorway.
A close look reveals one bud lagging behind its sisters, and signs of the odd flower going past its prime, but at the time I was almost convinced it wasn’t real. Some scruple prevented me grabbing hold of a petal to check.
Spotting a family enjoying some sun across the street, I called over and made enquiries of them. They assured me it was real – they’d seen their neighbour pruning it. Mystery solved!
We hear about people wanting roses round the door as a sign of domestic bliss, but a clematis like this makes a strong play for the same spot.
Susan Rushton 
Wow, it really looks like it could be fake, it is so perfect! What t gorgeous clematis.
I couldn’t have caught it at a better time if I’d tried.
Thank you many times! This qualifies as one of those that border on dream. The old stone, that white cloud around the door — and is that lavender trying to reach up to the clematis? It too wants to touch it to see if it’s real. The whole of it is a rare vignette. I am ever awed by the charm people can create in a small space. What a find!
I should really have put it in my pictures for dreaming series, shouldn’t I?
What a beautiful and dramatic statement the clematis makes š
It is wonderfully well tended.
Oh wow! That is pretty spectacular.
There was hardly any room to squeeze in an extra flower.
That makes a beautiful entrance.
It’s very elegant and completely OTT – an unusual combination.
My first impulse was to doubt that it was real. It really is jaw-droppingly awesome (and as a rule, I don’t use that word).
It had me reaching for the superlatives too. š
Just wonderful!
Isn’t it just!
š
Stunning and beautiful š
I can imagine quite a few people fancying one like this too.
How beautiful! I so agree about how much we see walking locally.
I had no idea it was there.
OMG, stunning in its perfection! You happened by on its peak day, it seems.
Yes – I was very lucky.