Raymond Evison O.B.E. saw his business thrive in Guernsey

Raymond Evison O.B.E. is the owner and Managing Director of Guernsey based companies, The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd and Raymond J. Evison Ltd. He is a nurseryman and breeder, horticultural exhibitor, horticultural judge, acclaimed lecturer, author and photographer. He is also the author of numerous articles on plants, gardening and the genus clematis published in books and leading magazines in Europe and North America; his horticultural photographs are used widely in publications.

Raymond Evison has more than 40 years of experience growing and introducing new clematis to the world’s gardeners. One of his greatest loves is to search worldwide for plants either in the wild or in cultivation and he has been responsible for introducing many new clematis into cultivation for the world’s gardening market. He has introduced over 100 species and cultivars into the United Kingdom. Moreover, Raymond holds an NCCPG Collection of clematis of over 500 species and cultivars.

Born of a gardening family, Raymond Evison started his horticultural career at the age of 15 in Shropshire where he grew up and quickly became the Director of his first company: “Treasures of Tenbury Ltd”. A brutal winter killed a third of his mother stock and he moved the clematis operations to Guernsey, where he set up The Guernsey Clematis Nursery in 1985, to take advantage of the milder climate and the plethora of empty glasshouses where Guernsey tomatoes once grew.

Thanks to Raymond’s hard work, the natural environment and a favourable business climate the business has grown substantially and now produces 5 million young plants per year and exports to 20 countries worldwide. In his search for the ideal clematis and thanks to his special breeding programme, Raymond has bred some of the best and longest flowering clematis. He exhibits in most Flower Shows worldwide and has won many prestigious awards over the years, numerous gold Medals at Chelsea and the RHS Reginald Cory Memorial Cup in 2004.

He introduces new cultivars and a new collection every year at the world famous Chelsea Flower Show. Guernsey has proved to be the perfect location for Raymond Evison and his businesses.