International
 Clematis
 Society
 

Welcome to all Clematis Lovers.

Dr. Mary Toomey - 2022 I am sorry to inform you that Dr. Mary Toomey, Honorary Fellow of this Society, died peacefully at Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross, Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 26th May 2022, after a long illness. Dr. Mary Toomey was a person of many talents, including botanist, author, clematarian, lecturer, philanthropist. She joined the Society in 1999, I believe, though prior to that she'd been a member of the British Clematis Society and their editor for several years. In 2006, Mary, on behalf of the Ranunculaceae Society, invited the International Clematis Society to hold a meeting in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Nearly 100 people, representing 14 countries, attended. You can read a 3-part brief report of the meeting starting at Ireland 2006 - Part 1, or a full account in Clematis International 2007. After Magnus Johnson published his epic work, "Släktet Klematis", there was an obvious demand for an English translation. Bengt Sundström, accepted this task and enlisted the help of Dr Mary Toomey, along with Rita Eustance. This mammoth effort culminated in "The Genus Clematis" in 2001. This volume is still seen as one of the most comprehensive and detailed works about clematis. Mary, with Everett Leeds and Charles Chesshire and in conjunction with the British Clematis Society, also published "An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Clematis". A pocket-sized version appeared a few years later. The Society sends its condolences to daughter, Aoife, her family and all her friends.

Dr. Mary Toomey during the Society visit to Dublin, Republic of Ireland in 2006

Denmark/Germany 2022

After being twice postponed due to COVID, this event took place from Saturday 9th July to Saturday 16th July. Starting in Aarhus, Denmark, we had 4½ days of garden visits, from an allotment garden, a topiary garden, a garden designed in the shape of an enormous flower, and many more. We also managed to see some of the historic and cultural sites of Aarhus and the World Heritage Site of Jelling. Finally we moved to Hamburg for a couple of nights to visit two German clematis nurseries and a rather special back garden.

As usual, there will be a full set of articles about our visits in the next issue of our journal, Clematis International 2023. But if you can't wait that long, why not take a look at my first of what will be a series of informal illustrated reports. You can find this by clicking on Denmark/Germany 2022 - Part 1

Clematis International 2022

Our latest journal, CI2022, was posted mid June to the majority of members who have renewed their membership for 2022. Journals for members who attended the meeting in Denmark / Germany were delivered by hand. Journals for all other members within the European Union were posted in Germany the week beginning 11th July. This means by now, all members who have renewed for 2022 should have received your journal.

So if you haven't, please contact the Society, but not before checking that you really did remember to renew your membership, please. We still have a significant number of members yet to renew for 2022, so if you have not, please do so promptly. We will then send you your journal.

Finally, I thank all those members and others who, given the lack of a Society meeting / visit, rallied round to ensure an excellent selection of articles. I have no doubt that, when you receive your copy, you will agree with me.

A Royal Warrant for The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd.

Last month I wrote about the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and how Raymond Evison, founder of this Society, was awarded his 32nd Chelsea Gold Medal - a wonderful achievement.

What I didn't mention was that The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd. has been granted a Royal Warrant by Appointment by the Command of His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales.

Raymond J. Evison OBE, Founder and Chairman of The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd., said "This is a great honour and privilege for our company".

Royal Warrants are bestowed on companies who are substantial suppliers of products over a period of years to a Royal Household, and who reach a very high level of sustainability in their production, business practices, and social responsibilities.

Royal Warrant for The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd.

Raymond Evison display at Chelsea 2022 with the Royal Warrant

Constitutional General Meeting

As said above, the Society meeting in Denmark happened in July, 2022. In the March Newsletter we said we intended to hold the Constitutional General Meeting (C.G.M.) during the Denmark meeting, using Zoom to open it to all members who wish to connect.

However, after further reflection on the practicalities of this plan, the Council has decided to postpone the C.G.M. until the Autumn, when it can be part of a zoom-based Webinar with one or more speakers. We believe that more members will be able to join in the zoom session, it will be easier for all to follow and logistically simpler to organize. More information will be available after the meeting in Denmark. Thank you for your understanding.

I.Cl.S. Webinars

Recordings of the last two public webinars, along with a video describing the benefits of being a member of the International Clematis Society, are available on both the member-only page and also here, at our I.Cl.S. Webinars page.

Details of our next webinar are yet to be finalized but will be communicated to members as soon as they have been decided.

The International Clematis Registrar, and the International Clematis Register and Checklist

The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002, which went out of print some time ago, is available in electronic format. One benefit of this is that it allows text searching.

Details for The Register and all six supplements can be found via the RHS website at https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/plantsmanship/plant-registration/Clematis-registration/Clematis. However because of the file size of the Register itself, approximately 25 Mbytes, it cannot be downloaded from the RHS web site in the same way that the supplements can. To help the RHS and reduce their workload, Society members wanting a copy should email Ken Woolfenden, I.Cl.S. Webperson and Editor, at icls editor, who will return a download link.

The Society fully endorses the work of the International Clematis Registrar, The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 and the six supplements published so far. We recommend all clematis lovers use the standards they describe.

There is, of course, still a need for all Clematis breeders, both professionals and amateurs, to register your Clematis cultivars with the Registrar to continue to keep the International Clematis Register up to date. If you want a copy of the form, information about it is available at the Clematis Registration Form.

International Clematis Society on Facebook

Don't forget to visit our Facebook page for updates on what's happening in our garden, as well as clematis news from other members. All you need do is click      or use the button to your left.

Recommended Clematis

The Society's Clematis for Beginners List is now Recommended Clematis, reflecting the wider usefulness of this set of clematis cultivars for all clematis growers around the world. It was reviewed and revised during our meeting in Devon and Cornwall in 2015. It is available online and also as a downloadable version from our Recommended Clematis section, in Dutch, English, French, German and Swedish

All the clematis on the list are easy to grow, easy to look after and resistant to common pests and diseases, and whilst there are no absolute guarantees where gardening is concerned, most people should have success with all of these.

Because space is not so much of a problem, the online version of the list now contains more information about each clematis featured within it, along with a simple menu bar to let you see each group and then pick the clematis you're interested in. The downloadable version (no illustrations as yet, I'm afraid) is very suitable for taking with you when you visit your local nursery or garden centre!

Journal Index of Clematis References

A reminder of a facility which I'm sure many of you will find most useful - an index of references to all the clematis mentioned in the journals of the Society, both in the text and as pictures. I am indebted to Ton Hannink for all the work he has put into producing the first issue of this index. The index currently covers the years 2005 - 2014 inclusive. Further years will be added as they are completed. Whilst it is quite a large document, some 29 pages, it is not a particularly large file to download should you wish, just under 220 Kbytes. You can find it by visiting the Previous Journals page.

RHS Clematis Catalogue Collection

The Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain holds a collection of Nursery Catalogues and have been keen to add to it. A number of years ago the Society was asked to canvas our members for any Clematis Nursery catalogues which they had and would donate to the collection, which we did. Quite a few have been donated so far.

Whilst he was the International Clematis Registrar, Duncan Donald extracted a list of catalogues from Clematis Specialists which are currently within the collection and a list of catalogues which feature clematis, but under such headings as "climbing plants" or "climbers". You can find them at RHS Clematis Catalogue Collection and RHS Climbers and Climbing Plant Catalogue Collection. Links to both these files can also be found via the "Information, Answers and Questions" link on the left of this page.

The Society has asked where further donated catalogues should be sent. As soon as we have this information it will be publish here.

Nursery Membership

The Society offers a second category of membership - Nursery Membership. So far we have been very pleased with the support that many nurseries have given by renewing as Nursery Members. We thank them all.

These Nursery Members can be found on a special Nursery Members page on this website.

The Society hopes you will recognize that, as members of this Society, these Nursery Members have a particular interest, knowledge and love of clematis and can be expected to provide a range and quality of plants, and informed knowledge, not usually available in non-specialist outlets. Please check this page regularly for additions.

Whilst it is now too late for your nursery details to be included in Clematis International 2011, any further Nursery Memberships will be published on this website as they are received and also in the List of Members when it is reissued at the beginning of next year.

Trialing New Clematis

An example of a Clematis Trial contract, mentioned in the article in Clematis International 2008 about trialing new clematis by well-known clematis breeder, Wim Snoeijer, can be downloaded by visiting the A.O.B. (Any Other Business) page accessible from our Information, Answers and Questions section.

How do you pronounce .....

If you're uncertain how to pronounce some clematis names, why not visit Clematis on the Web. A number of cultivar entries now have a helpful "how to say" feature.

A classic example is probably C. 'Mrs Cholmondeley'. How do you pronounce this? Just take a look at Clematis on the Web - Mrs Cholmondeley, click on the loudspeaker icon and find out for yourself.

This is an extreme example but I'm sure there are many others that people may be unsure of, but don't like to ask. Now you can find out in the privacy of your own home.

General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR

This Regulation applies to all organizations, large and small, that store personal data of EU and UK citizens electronically.

A draft Privacy Policy was drawn up and discussed at a previous Council Meeting. We are still working on modifications and amendments. Once completed and the resulting document is agreed by your Council, it will be released to all members and posted in this website.

The Society is committed to complying with this regulation. Should any member have any questions or concerns regarding it, please contact our designated Data Controller, Ken Woolfenden.

And finally ....

The ethos of the Internet is to be an open forum for ideas, views and opinions. Sites should encourage visitors to link to other sites, it's a two-way process. So if you've got a few moments, why not look at our Clematis Links page and follow up one or two. You may find a lot more than you were expecting!

For any non-members visiting this site, have you considered joining the Society? With plans for some very interesting meetings over the next few years there couldn't be a better time. For details, visit our How to Join page.

Last message - for any new visitors. If you cannot see a set of menu buttons down the left hand side of your screen your link to this site may be incorrect. Please re-visit by calling www.clematisinternational.com.

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