Summer In a Greek Garden

 

I’m so lucky to live in Greece with its warm, sunny climate which allows me to more or less live outdoors in the garden through spring, summer and well into the autumn, even on sunny mornings in winter, I have my coffee outside.

MGG – My Greek God and I have put much hard work into our garden in the years that we have lived in this house; it has all been worth it.

 It hasn’t all been smooth going though, we have totally different ideas on gardening and how a garden should look.

 I prefer the more natural, flowing style, MGG likes straight orderly lines, everything neat and tidy, pruned to within an inch of its life. (He has been known to use a chain saw for this!)

 MGG likes grass…square, manicured lawns, I don’t, a lawn is just not Greek!

 

 

 

We solved the problem by allotting the front garden to the care and upkeep of MGG; I inherited the back garden.

The first thing to go was the lawn – yes, we had one there too!

This was replaced with crazy paving, the stone, karystos was used, a kind of slate named after the place on the island of Evia, from where it originates.

 Then out came the “squared up” hedges.

 Because of the warm weather, I had the idea that anything can grow here, it can’t!

 After much wasted time and money I came to my senses, we are in Greece, plant Greek stuff!

 In went  pink and white oleander, nearly impossible to kill off!

 

 

 I planted Jasmine, the smell in the evenings is heavenly, large Greek urns, overflowing with plumbago, the flowers of which are rather sticky with tiny hook-like things, these stick to the dogs a treat and they become covered and then trail it all through the house!

 

 

 

In 2004 I had planted a plum stone and a fig sapling sprouted from nowhere, they grew splendidly.

 We now have an abundance of figs and plums each year.

 The plum jam I have made is fabulous, pure, no additives, absolutely delicious, enough to last a lifetime!

 As the Olympic Games were held in Greece in 2004 I named them “Olympic Plum” and “Olympic Fig”!

 

 

 

Every year I grow basil with which I make Caprese salad, tomato, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and sprinkled with fresh basil, it’s quite possible that I eat this nearly every day of the summer!

 

 

 My Daughter Nais has started a “Memory tree”.

 On her visits to the Greek islands she buys something to hang in the tree, to remind her of the good times she had there.

 So far she has collected a ceramic fish from Syros, a porcelain donkey from Paros, a sailing boat from Kimolos, a wooden top from Sifnos, a sea horse from Spetses and jelly fish from Samothrace, I love the idea!

 

 

We have a few visitors now and again, we had a fairly large snake in our yucca tree, it was there for a couple of days, the yucca is huge; I planted it as a small indoor pot plant twenty years ago, sparrows gather there which is probably what kept the snake there.

 

 

A large frog or toad, I think, I’m not up on amphibians, has lived for years in the rockery at the front.

 

 

My grandaughter, Mel, loves to come to our garden, where we have all the usual kids’ paraphernalia, she helps MGG with the gardening; I fear she may be more of a hindrance.

 

 

 

 

I have created my sanctuary, my time, when not on the beach, is spent here, alone just sitting enjoying the tranquility or having fun with my family.

As we become older we appreciate the simpler things, we are grateful.