The
Mediterranean Garden Society

Past events

March 2009 - Visit to Kea
Our visit to Kea was in March when we found the countryside decked with anemones of every possible colour. Not just anemones but brilliant echiums, spectacular Ferula communis and scores of beautiful spring flowers and orchids too numerous to mention. 

The mayor kindly allowed us to use the new municipal hall for an excellent slide show given by Rena Karakatsani, who has lived on the island and loved its flowers for many years. From Rena’s interesting talk we gained an idea of the huge range of flowers to be found on Kea, their uses, and the myths associated with them.

Settlements have been discovered dating to 3300 B.C. and remains of no less than four temples. A visit to the museum with our knowledgeable and ecologically conscious host, Kostis Maroulis, of The Red Tractor Farm Guest House, was our introduction to the history of the island, known in ancient times as Hydroussa, (place of many waters), the birthplace of many figures who influenced the course of Greek history and the arts. 

'The Interpretation and Symbolism of Plant Motifs on Attic Pottery ca. 750-400 B.C.' was the title of a slide show given by a member of our party from the Australian Archaeological School. 

Another slide show was given by George Sfikas, our accompanying wild flower expert, a mine of information with an eye for that special plant that we would have passed without a thought. 

Archaeology and botany went hand in hand as we walked the ancient kalderimi to the Temple of Apollo at Karthaia. Another walk took us from the outskirts of Ioulis to Otzia, passing the benign stone lion, the source of many legends but about which little is known.

The capital’s narrow streets are crowded with old houses – and tavernas that you feel have always been tavernas; it is easy to imagine the same streets peopled by islanders clinging to their hill-top village for safety from marauding pirates. 
  
Our visit concluded with a visit to Petra’s centuries-old house where she lives happily surrounded by her fascinating garden, lovingly created using mostly wild plants, bulbs and herbs, following a way of life that creates practically zero carbon emissions. 

We left with reluctance, feeling that there was a lot beneath the surface of this lovely island that might never be discovered. We hope we might soon return to this beautiful and interesting place.

Anemone coronaria

Ophrys argolica

Limonium vulgare

Footpath on Kea

This lion lives on Kea

All the colours of the rainbow

Lupinus micranthus

Petra's garden

Photos by Christian Lafauchez, Barbara Diamantides and Vina Michaelides.

July 2008 - end of term
Our end of term was later than usual this year but the moon rose on schedule as we watched from Sparoza.

May 2008 - visit to Schinos
We had an interesting visit to the Rose Gardens at Schinos near Corinth and found the coast approaching Schinos so rich in flora that we must revisit the area at the same time of year.

May 2008 - Cretan members meet
Cretan members met in May at a member's home where they admired a large collection of succulents and pot plants carefully labelled with details kept to hand for their care and identification. There’s a lesson for us! The next meeting for Cretan members will be on Sunday 5th October. 

May 2008 - Southern Peloponnese group
The initial meeting of the Southern Peloponnese group in Kardamyli got off to a good start. They plan to meet twice yearly at different venues in Western Messinia, Mani and Lakonia. 

April 2008 - garden visit
Whenever we visit a member's garden we learn so much, as we did when we were kindly invited by Fleur Pavlidis' to see her very new garden, still under construction, which made it all the more interesting. Her use of plants and colours was a lesson to us all and the permission she gives nature to have its way creates very special effects - gazanias heightening the tones of poppies against a wall, mauve self-sown alliums waving above a sea of yellow daisies, nigella wending its way through the olive trees, tiny frogs in a pool with a plank to help them reach land - a wild-life garden with Health & Safety features - for the wildlife!

April 2008 - spring visit to the Peloponnese
The weather was not kind for our spring  visit to the Peloponnese.  However, suitably clad and led by George Sfikas we were delighted to find Tulipa goulimyi growing in profusion, Chrysanthi was the one to spot several fine examples of Fritillaria graeca. We saw many other interesting plants, defying the weather, as plants usually do. The arrangements made by George and Chrysanthi were excellent and a good time was had by all, beautifully rounded off by a visit of particular interest to the Olive Museum in Mistra. 

March 2008 – Plant and Seed Exchange
Business was brisk at the spring Plant and Seed Exchange. Many  thanks to the ladies whose delicious cakes help to make these mornings such pleasant occasions. 

March 2008 – a visit to the Ancient Agora
There was a good turnout of members for the visit to  the Ancient Agora and the interesting talk given by Landscape Architect Simon Rackham. We are grateful to the Elliniki Etaireia for opening specially for us.

February 2008 – at Sparoza
All seats were taken for the  excellent slide show given by Makis Aperghis on "Bulbous Plants of Greece". Many of the pictures we saw illustrate the late Myrto Apergis’ book on the subject, available at bookshops in Athens

February 2008 - afternoon tea
It was hard to keep the talk  on horticultural subjects but a cup of tea at Barbara's home provided a good opportunity for a get-together.

Porto Heli in April
Members from England and Spain joined the Greek Branch Spring visit to Porto Heli, which was a resounding success thanks to the splendid arrangements made by local members in the area. We met at the Agnati Restaurant with spectacular views down to Palea Epidavros and across the sea towards Athens, walked round the doline at Didyma with huge overhanging bushes of Capparis spinosa clinging to its walls and continued through Fourni to eat our picnic lunch at a little white church next to the sea before walking to the Franchthi Cave. This is one of the oldest inhabited caves in Greece dating back to 20,000 BC, a most atmospheric spot conjuring up thoughts about what life must have been like so many millennia ago. The walk to the cave was rich with wild flowers including Ruta graveolens (rue) and beautiful pink Cistus - but was it C. crispus, or C. albidus, or C. creticus? We must go back to check!

In Porto Heli we saw some wonderful gardens and breathtaking vistas of wild flowers in the surrounding countryside. We were too late to see tulips but found Gladiolus byzantinus and fields of Muscari comosum (tassel hyacinth). After visiting the ancient Acropolis of Halieis, we visited the old monastery of Ag. Dimitrios at Pelei, another atmospheric spot with Iris cretensis scattered everywhere.  Campanula andrewsii was clinging to the rocks in glorious profusion and Alyssum saxatile grew from cracks in the rocks, a wonderful rock garden.  Views down the valley and birds nesting in the cliffs nearby stay in the mind's eye. We left with the warmest impression of the wonderful hospitality of friends and members in the area.   

Photographs by Linda Reynolds

Hydra in May
The Greek Branch had an early start for its day in Hydra, an island in the Saronic Gulf. Our tireless hostess, who had arranged our itinerary down to the finest detail, was much more practiced at negotiating the stepped streets than we were, but following her as our Pied Piper we saw courtyard gardens lovingly created to make the most of space available and incorporating wonderful views through windows and archways.

As we walked the cobbled streets it became obvious that literally anything that takes root, whether friend or foe, and no matter where it grows, is eagerly welcomed and looked after: succulents on a roof, capers on a wall, 'weeds' in corners - even a mirror propped behind to increase their impact - or was it a happy accident? Gardens, walls and doorways are beautified with interesting pieces of sculpture, ironwork, and... flotsam, as can be expected of Hydra's colony of artists.

Our group grew as friends joined in and opened yet more gardens for our delight. We learned a lot about Hydra's history and its famous families from the beautifully presented collection in the Historical Archives Museum of Hydra and the Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin, which houses the island's Town Hall and, in the monastery museum, a stunning display of ecclesiastical artifacts and vestments.

MGS stall wins award
Kifissia's 52nd Flower Show opened at the end of April with a brilliant burst of fireworks. At the opening ceremony we were delighted to find that the Mediterranean Garden Society stall had been awarded a trophy by the Mayor of Kifissia, Mr Nikos Hiotakis; it depicts a charming silver wreath of pomegranates encircling the traditional horse-drawn cart for which Kifissia is famous.

The winning stall shared with the Goulandris Natural History Museum.
Photograph by Barbara Diamantides

Members of the Greek branch manned the stall for four days from 28th April to 1st May. The weather was disappointing, May Day was not being its usual sunny self, but nevertheless the Flower Show seemed to be the venue of choice for most Athenians. It was literally standing room only and crowds came to buy plants, watch the dancing, listen to the singers and, sadly, get soaked in the heavy afternoon rain. We received lots of enquiries at the Society's stand and it was fun to see people recognising the pomegranate, Punica granatum at our entrance and eyeing the distinctly non-mediterranean Bilbergia nutans. A fragrant basket of herbs caused a lot of interest (and wild guesses as to its contents) as did Sally's beautiful wild flower arrangement. This year we shared our table with the Goulandris Natural History Museum and their lovely posters and drawings were much admired. Our helpers did a wonderful job and deserve medals for sticking to their post in such inclement conditions.

The people of Athens are genuinely fond of plants, as a glance at any balcony verifies, and this year's Flower Show offered a lot more than potted plants. Nick Thymakis, the Show's Horticultural Consultant and MGS member, put together a programme of talks on different botanical subjects every day for the two weeks' of the show and it was heartening to see many people gathered for each presentation. The Show will close on 14th May, Mother's Day, with a Blood Donor's session at 10 a.m. - the Flower Show has indeed matured and the organisers are to be congratulated on the scope of this year's programme.

Kardamyli in April
Our spring event in the Mani was full of interest, we saw an amazing range of spring flowers which were at their peak. We enjoyed visiting interesting old churches in the area as well as the excellent new museum in the old part of Kardamyli. Fellow members in the area welcomed us to their gardens and we returned home resolving to do better with our own.

To see these and other photos from our visit click here.

February at Thorikos
Silver was Athens' source of wealth from the 6th Century BC and was mined by slaves near to present day Lavrion.

Some flowers were already displaying their colours in February when the Greek Branch visited the ancient silver mines and Mycenean tomb at Thorikos, with Marianne to tell us about this historic site. Muscari, Ornithogalum, Anemone pavonina, brilliant red A. coronaria, deep blue Anchusa arvensis, Arisarum vulgare and Aubrieta deltoidea were just making an appearance after the cold weather of January and early February. A hawk overhead noted his disapproval of our intrusion and tiny flickerings in the grass showed that lizards and grasshoppers appreciated the beautiful day as much as we did.

Photographs by Davina Michaelidou

Visit to Rhamnous
Sally led the search for spring flowers which had not been encouraged by the recent heavy rains, snowfalls and cold conditions. However we did come across wonderful scarlet anemones, globe hyacinths, anchusa, orchids, including Barlia robertiana and lots of edible asparagus...eagerly snapped up by the naturalists in the party. We repaired to a nearby taverna where the group which had not armed themselves with sandwiches made do with fresh squid and salad.
All text by Barbara Diamantides

Sally Razelou triumphantly finding wild asparagus amongst
the Pistacia terebinthus at Rhamnous in February.
Photograph by Barbara Diamantides