ABC Wednesday 5: E is For...


... Evison, Raymond Evison

Regular readers of this blog know of my fondness for Clematis, especially those grown by the lovely Mr Evison. I call him that because he's such a courteous, dapper gentleman who helped me solve my clematis mystery last year when I met him at the RHS Inner Temple show. I spoke to him again at Chelsea in May, so imagine my excitement when I opened my gardening club magazine to find he's coming to my local garden centre next month to give a talk on Clematis for today's gardens.

Raymond Evison is the top Clematis grower, who exports all over the world from his nursery in Guernsey. I find his plants are the ones which settle into my garden most easily and draw the most comments from visitors, like those who came to NAH's curry evening last week. If you have Clematis in your garden, chances are at least one of them will have been introduced by him. The clue is in the code after the plant's name: if you see the letters EVIPO + 3 digits or EVI + a written number, then it's a Raymond Evison plant.

My local garden centre always puts on a great display of his plants at this time of the year, which I've also tempted Threadspider to partake in. She took home C. 'Arctic Queen' (TM - Evitwo) last year and we've been admiring it in her garden since mid Spring. My friend H, who came with me to Chelsea is desperate for C. 'Cassis' (TM Evipo020) to grace her garden. Last year I took delivery of gorgeous C. 'Crystal Fountain' (TM - Evipo038) by post and its arrival was quite the special event: the distinctive blue box with a healthy plant carefully packed and nestling inside made me feel like Christmas had come early. I suspect I'll be indulging in another purchase or two myself next month when Threadspider and I go to hear what the great man has to say. I just hope he doesn't have a look at our tickets that closely ;)

For other Exciting posts on the theme of E, do visit the ABC Wednesday blog.

Comments

  1. Linda Jacobs18 August 2009 at 23:02

    Interesting! I've never heard of the guy so this post was a learning experience for me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mrs Mac18 August 2009 at 23:10

    Cool!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tumblewords:19 August 2009 at 05:19

    What fun! I had a couple of clematis plants that I loved, but they quit growing when they reached about 20 years or so. I've not tried others, but I always enjoyed them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. photowannabe19 August 2009 at 05:58

    Great post and very informative. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bradley Hsi19 August 2009 at 07:20

    We planted clematis a few times but never to successfully. May be we should place some orders to him.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rinkly Rimes19 August 2009 at 08:44

    One thing I enjoy about blogging is being able to tune-in to other peoples' enthusiasms.What pleasure yours gives you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Roger Owen Green19 August 2009 at 12:09

    thanks for sharing your joy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Q19 August 2009 at 15:54

    How very exciting!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  9. emmat19 August 2009 at 18:45

    I always think of it as "Eviepoo" like a little pet name for someone called Evie....

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mr. McGregor's Daughter19 August 2009 at 18:57

    I'd be excited too. I love to hear a breeder discuss his or her plants, it's always fascinating. I'm another Evison fan. Nearly half of my Clematis are his. I hope you bring home something not available in the US yet. It'll be a neat preview for us.
    I love Emma T's comment - now I'll be calling them "Eviepoo" too, instead of "Ehvee-poe," which is how I was prounouncing them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anna20 August 2009 at 09:30

    Oh lucky you - enjoy ! I am hankering after his clematis 'Harlow Carr'.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Victoria Summerley20 August 2009 at 14:12

    The only clematis I have in the garden (apart from Clematis armandii, which seems to be indestructible) is from Raymond Evison. Even better, they are both £5 bargains from the Chelsea Flower Show sell-off. I've never been able to grow anyone else's clematis - every time I've bought one from someone/where else, it has succumbed to wilt. I think Raymond Evison must be some kind of magician.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Joanne20 August 2009 at 21:55

    What no photos! I am just flashing through my blog role as I am so behind with gardening I haven't had time to blog. Yours caught my eye as I am such a fan of clematis and Ray Evison I enjoy his books too. Ah well I will have to do without the eye candy tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  14. VP21 August 2009 at 15:26

    Hi ABCers - I'll comment over at your contribution for E :)

    Emmat - it always makes me giggle!

    MMD - I've linked to the current catalogue, can you get all of them in the US? I suspect the ones launched at Chelsea might not be available yet?

    Anna - I can't believe it's at the garden centre :)

    Victoria - I think so too.

    Joanne - my Clematis pictures look a little tatty, so I went with my second choice of shot - a picture of our tickets. Proper Clematis pictures to follow!

    ReplyDelete

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