A little research suggests that this wonderful Clematis cultivar was introduced way back in 1897 by Jean-Jacques Moser in his nursery in Versailles. I'm not sure where the "Nelly" came from, although I'm sure a little further diligence in my research will find out (anyone care to point me in the right direction?), but whatever the inspiration for the name he produced one of the most popular and attractive Clematis varieties. It's a one we have a couple of in the garden where they thrive to produce two shows of large flowers every year. It's a rewarding plant that produces lots of large pink flowers with a darker stripe down each sepal, grows fantastically over an arch or similar, and does better in partial shade otherwise the flowers fade to grey or white rather too quickly. That old maxim "feet in the shade, heads in the sun" should be partially ignored for the "Nelly Moser"; feet in the shade certainly, but head in partial shade is best.
