Hello, Terry -- I'll have to become inventive this summer. The clematis have been planted at the back of my rose bed, climbing up the railings of my back porch. The only way I had managed to provide shade at the roots was to stand some tall stones in front of them. I didn't want to put ground covers in there because they would have detracted from the impact of the roses, or so I thought. I shall have to give this project some studious thought ..... Penny, NY . ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!