Clematis virginiana belongs to eastern North America from Canada south, and in a garden setting it earns its keep through sheer adaptability. Where other flowering vines sulk in shade, this one blooms. The flowers themselves are small and white, held in loose clusters that open in late summer and autumn with a noticeable fragrance that draws a steady procession of pollinators, including hummingbirds. What comes after — the feathery, silver-tinged seedheads that give it the name Old Man's Beard — can be genuinely beautiful caught in low autumn light.

Plant it where it has real room to move: 15 to 20 feet at maturity, climbing by leaf stalks that grip whatever they find. It will scramble over a fence, weave through a woodland edge, or cover an unsightly structure with impressive speed. The male plant skips the seed show but produces a more emphatic flower display; worth seeking out if self-seeding is a concern, because this vine will naturalize freely and should be given a site where that's welcome rather than a problem.