Raymond Evison OBE VMH
Clematis expert
It is 50 years since Raymond helped stage his first Chelsea exhibit aged just 16. Since then he has won more than 20 gold medals and will be back exhibiting again this year.
This very young age was a time of discovery for me, walking the fields and seeing all these cultivated roses and apples and pears growing in the hedgerows.
Royal Horticultural Society Your first memory of gardening?
Raymond Evison When I was 3 or 4, I spent a lot of time on the Shropshire/Welsh borders. The old lady who had brought up my mother had been married twice; one husband was obviously a keen gardener and he took budwood from the roses in the garden and also budwood of apples and pears and grafted them on to wild rose briars and Malus species.
So this young age was a time of discovery for me, walking the fields and seeing all these cultivated roses, apples and pears growing in the hedgerows. I guess this stimulated me for all the plant hunting trips that I have been on in China, Japan, America etc.
RHS How did you first become involved with the Chelsea Flower Show 50 years ago?
RE At the age of 16, I was invited by Percy Picton from the Old Court Nursery near Malvern, Worcestershire, to help him and his son Paul to stage their Chelsea exhibit. Their exhibit had no clematis but after the show had closed, Percy told me about his work with William Robinson at Gravetye Manor and with Ernest Markham. There are clematis named ‘Percy Picton’ and ‘Ernest Markham’. These conversations stimulated my interest.
RHS Name a few of your favourite Chelsea moments
RE The most thrilling was being awarded my first Chelsea gold medal in the late 1960s. Judging in the Great Marquee was always most enjoyable and, of course, judging the gardens. Meeting the Royal family at Chelsea is always a great thrill and, of course, as well as winning over 20 gold medals, winning the five Williams Memorial Medals and two Lawrence Medals were all exciting.
RHS Your favourite clematis?
RE Clematis species that I find in the wild, in China or other countries. It has been a great privilege to breed a range of clematis which perform exceptionally well but it's the species and their small flowered cultivars that I really enjoy.
RHS How have the perceptions of clematis changed over the years?
RE In the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, one of the biggest problems was clematis wilt. Today, because of the breeding & development work and more hygienic ways of propagating and growing in nurseries, they are not thought of so much as difficult plants.
RHS Clematis have been used as climbers, ground cover and scrambling through trees and shrubs – what’s the latest trend?
RE Growing clematis in containers for smaller gardens. We've been developing longer flowering, shorter growing clematis, which are really necessary for the small garden, the patio or even the balcony.
RHS Lots of us get into a pickle with pruning clematis – your advice?
RE This has always been a great challenge. The aim of our recent breeding work is to develop clematis that are easier to grow. Therefore, with the exception of the double or semi-double cultivars, all our new clematis going onto the market can be pruned down to 6 or 12 inches of ground level (15-30cm) at the end of winter/very early spring.
People should not be frightened to prune even the old varieties hard as long as the stems are not thick and woody. Clematis nearly always regenerate from their base. The exception to this are the evergreen cultivars, the alpines and macropetalas and the montana group.