Clematis...

Have you got a B&M near you FC?
I got some great Clematis from them last year..£6 each ..they were a good 3 ft tall

 

Sorry, but I would never put slabs on top of the base, as it's just somewhere for slugs to hide an dthen come out an deat the new soft growth. I know someone who was sure this was the right idea and put bricks or paviours on two clematis. Neither of them did well, as they just kept being munched as soon as they grew. She was horrified when she eventually lifted the bricks off them. The large flowered ones like cool root runs, but that's why deep watering when planted is important, and doing that frequently if the soil is drier, is also good to encourage the roots down into the ground. In a wet climate it's easier.

 

Was in Worthing Morrisons this afternoon/early evening, loads of different clematis for £2.50 each about a foot high. plenty of the old favourites amongst them