Once again popular with vistors, the Raymond Evison Clematis exhibit welcomed royalty and another top prize.
Mr Evison said that the weather conditions had made things a little trickier this year.
‘At one stage in mid-April, the clematis were a little bit forward. We used a bit of cold to slow them down and thought we’d got the timing perfect, but then the weather turned very cold again, so this year, for the first time in many years, we were really forcing the clematis to come into flower,’ he said.
‘Even the day we packed the plants to ship them over, the buds were really tight, but because of that I think the plants certainly were the best we’ve ever taken to Chelsea Flower Show.
‘Because of the cool weather in London, when I left there on Wednesday, the flowers were still looking absolutely perfect, having already been in London for 10 days.’
He said that visitors to the show were very complimentary of the exhibit, liking the design, the quality of the clematis and the three new varieties launched this year.
Queen’s Nurse was created to help raise funds and awareness for the Queen’s Nursing Institute, and Ithemba was named by a children’s hospital trust in South Africa.
Eliza was named by combining the names of Ebenezer Le Page and the love of his life Liza, and it was showcased alongside a 70-year-old tomato grading machine.
Mr Evison grew four varieties of tomato from the Guernsey Botanical Trust, tomatoes which would have been grown in the island in the late 1800s.
‘On press day, we were delighted that Lady Cripwell was with us for the launch of the three new varieties, especially for the launch of the Queen’s Nurse, and then later in the afternoon when the Royal family came round, we were delighted that the Queen visited our exhibit, and that Patricia McDermott, who is a Queen’s Nurse, was able to present Her Majesty with one of the plants,’ he said.
‘I very much enjoy exhibiting each year, it’s never boring because there’s always a new challenge.
‘It’s a great thrill to get a gold medal at Chelsea, but particularly a thrill to get a 36th Chelsea Flower Show gold medal, as this year was 66 years since I helped out at Chelsea Flower Show.’
The Raymond Evison exhibit was next to Burncoose Nurseries, who hosted the team from Grow Ltd, and Blue Diamond also had a large exhibit. Both won gold awards.
‘We like to exhibit at Chelsea when we launch new clematis varieties because it is the world’s leading flower show, and with social media, we know that our customers throughout the world will see what we’ve been doing,’ said Mr Evison.
‘It’s important for us to showcase our new plans and support the Royal Horticultural Society and to meet our customers, because many of them come to the show year after year.
‘Our team in London are always pleased to meet our customers and hear how successful they’ve been with our clematis.’
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