Brian Collingwood is a keen amateur clematis raiser and breeder. His collection, housed in a very large greenhouse, is an ever changing “work in progress” of seed raising, first-flowerings and hybridisations. In August 2005 he admitted to “some 150 plants in pots, along with 180 seedlings at all stages including a lot of texensis, a lot (40 or 50 or so) of brand new large flowered hybrid seedlings (some currently coming to flower of course, as always), some exotic crosses-in-progress, and a good number of other species seedlings, crispas, floridas, viornas, viticellas, montanae, hybrids of the viornae, integrifoliae, some new meclatis, freemontiis, etc etc. (= too many plants!)”

Brian is a member of the British and International Clematis Societies. He contributes to our ‘Clematis for tomorrow’ feature and has registered a number of new clematis in recent years.