The book is a summary of the knowledge that the author has acquired during more than 60 years as botanist, landscape architect and nurseryman about clematis. The purpose is to give a historical review, its use and cultivation in gardens. It is also meant to present an ordered arrangement of descriptions of the species and cultivars.
The book is broadly divided into three parts:
The first part deals with history, horticultural aspects, and the cultivation and propagation of clematis.
Sample pages in PDF format:
History 1753-1758, page 28.
Clematis for benefit and pleasure, medicinal use, etc., page 37-39.
The second part on scientific description of clematis gives an overview of different characteristics in text and drawings. It presents a historical review of the classification by different scientists, with the author's view at the end.
Sample pages in PDF format:
Clematis taxonomy, page 89-90.
In the third part, each section is introduced by a description of general characteristics, maps showing the distribution of the section and some comments on the use of clematis in gardening. Each description starts with literature references, several thousand in the book. In total, 325 species with about 180 varieties and around 1400 cultivars are treated. The book contains 24 gouaches, about 100 illustrations from classical literature and ink drawings by the author. Colour pictures of around 170 species and cultivars are grouped systematically, largely following the order in the text. There is a glossary for the basic terminology (200 words) in English, German, French and Swedish. Latin terms are also given.
Sample pages in PDF format:
Clematis koreana varieties and cultivars, page 210-211.
Map of distribution of section Viorna subsections, page 530.
Large-flowered cultivars: 'Annie Wood' to 'Ascotiensis', page 960.
Magnus Johnson Agr.D. h.c. (1907-2002)
Magnus Johnson has been active as a nurseryman and landscape architect since 1932. In the early years he specialised in alpine plants and woodland gardening, but his interests in clematis soon took on a dominant role in Magnus Johnsons Plantskola AB (the Swedish name of his company). His achievements in hybridization are revealed in the descriptions and illustrations. He was head gardener at Göteborgs Botaniska Trädgård (The Botanic Garden of Gothenburg) 1952-60 and landscape architect for the City of Gothenburg 1960-1972.
Magnus Johnson's gouaches reproduced in the book were awarded the Grenfell Medal (silver gilt) by the Royal Horticultural Society in London in connection with the foundation of the International Clematis Society in 1985. He was made an honorary doctor of SLU (The Swedish Agricultural University) in 1999. In 1997 he received the medal Illis quorum meruere labores from the Swedish government (the medal was instituted by King Gustav III of Sweden in 1785). In January 2002 Magnus Johnson was awarded the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society. Dr. Johnson deceased in April 2002 at the age of 95 years.
Bengt Sundström M.Sc., Ph.D.
Editor of the Swedish and English editions and an associate professor in Solid Mechanics at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. He was responsible for the layout, illustrations, computer graphics, and initial English translation.
Jan Lindmark
Contributor to Allt om Trädgård (Leading Garden Journal in Scandinavia) of text and photographs for articles mainly on clematis. He contributed a large number of photographs to this publication.
Mary Toomey M.Sc., Ph.D.
Dr Toomey has taken part as scientific and linguistic reviewer. She has published extensively on clematis and other biological and horticultural topics. She is the principal author of An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Clematis to be published by Timber Press in August 2001. She has also been editor of The Clematis, the journal of the British Clematis Society, since 1995.
Rita Eustace M.A., M.I.T.I., M.I.L.
Mrs Eustace is a professional translator of Danish extraction, now living in the UK. Her experience has proved invaluable in preserving the Scandinavian tone of the translation.