Raymond Evison
Raymond J. Evison OBE, VMH, is a nurseryman, lecturer, author and photographer. Born in 1945 he started his horticultural career at the age of 15 in Shropshire and moved to the isle of Guernsey to set up The Guernsey Clematis Nursery in 1984. In his lifetime he has introduced over 100 clematis species cultivars, and The Guernsey Clematis Nursery remains one of the largest specialist producers of young clematis plants and supplies plants worldwide, distributing its plants via both wholesale and retail channels.
Evison’s most recent clematis introductions have focussed on compact ornamental clematis cultivars more suitable for small gardens and have been achieved via a joint venture with Danish rose specialist Poulsen Roser A/S.
His first book "Making the Most of Clematis" was issued in 1977 and is now in its 3rd reprint. This was followed by "The Gardeners Guide to Growing Clematis" (1998), "Clematis for Everyone" (2000) and more recently “Clematis for Small Spaces”(2007).
Since the 1980s Evison has had strong representation within numerous horticultural bodies both British and international. After senior level involvement in the International Plants Propagators Society (as a previous international president) and the National Council for Conservation of Plants and Gardens he was the main driving force behind the formation of the International Clematis Society in 1984, for which he was president from 1989–1991 and is now an honorary fellow.
He remains a council member of the Royal Horticultural Society and at a local level within Guernsey he chairs the Guernsey NCCPG group as well as heading up a project targeting the restoration of a Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden as the President of the Guernsey Botanic Trust.
In 1995 he was awarded RHS Victoria Medal of Honour for his outstanding service to British Horticulture. This was followed by an OBE (2000) for services to Horticulture. He was awarded the RHS Reginald Cory Memorial Cup in 2005 for far-reaching work in breeding and developing new clematis cultivars. In 2008 his book, “Clematis for Small Spaces”, earned him the Garden Media Guild award for Reference Book Of The Year.
The 2008 gold medals awarded for displays at the RHS Chelsea and RHS Inner Temple shows bring his total of such awards to over 12 since setting up in Guernsey in 1984.
Raymond Evison still lives in Guernsey with his wife Sarah but travels widely both for business, plant hunting and lecture presentations on clematis.
[edit] Works
- “Making the Most of Clematis” (1977)
- “The Gardeners Guide to Growing Clematis” (1998)
- “Clematis for Everyone” (2000)
- “Clematis for Small Spaces” (2007).
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) |
- “Making the Most of Clematis” (1977)
- “The Gardeners Guide to Growing Clematis” (1998)
- “Clematis for Everyone” (2000)
- “Clematis for Small Spaces” (2007).
- BBC News Article
- About Clematis International
