Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud'

This is considered the pinkest of the "pink" Clematis.  Clematis that are "blue" are really not blue; they're a cool lavender-blue  Clematis that are "red" are not red; they're wine-red or purple red, not crimson.  And Clematis that are "pink" are really more of a lavender-pink hybrid.  However, 'Comtesse de Bouchaud' is pretty much pink, though as it fades it becomes less so, and more lavender. 




I got this Clematis mostly to compare it to another clematis I already had.  I wanted to see if the already-owed clematis was indeed 'Comtesse de Bouchaud', as many people thought it was. The best way to tell, in this Clematis-rare neighborhood, was to get a reliably named version and see if they were the same.  I paired the Comtesse with the pale yellow climbing rose 'Lunar Mist', because I assumed that the Clematis described as pink really wasn't all that pink.  Wrong.  It's pretty pink, and doesn't look great with pale yellow.  When the Comtesse bloomed, she was not a match for Unknown pinkish.  Unknown pinkish remains unknown.  It may be a random seedling of the Comtesse that came up in the nursery.  But the Comtesse is lovely.  I like its faded lavender color just as much as the richer pink of the freshly opened flower.