Teddy Edwards
Well-Known Member
This is for PeeJay. Because he asked. And because fortunately I don't know anything about mental illness but I do know what cheers me up. I hope this helps, PeeJay.
I've tried to keep with the spirit of Cannafan's thread - something for the long winter-time she said. We live on the mainland (the islands are terribly isolated in winter). However, we are on a peninsular with a gulf on one side (easy, gentle beaches and busy at this time of year) and the Aegean on the other (dramatic coves, unmade roads, fewer tourists - guess my favourite) - so we're like an island on the mainland. We're about 400m up a mountain which is a blessing in this hot weather and in a couple of weeks we'll have been here a year.
The house was a new build and going for a song because of the terrible economic situation here. We couldn't have afforded it 6 or 7 years ago. So for the first time in my life I've been making a garden. From absolute scratch. Loads and loads of mistakes (see my cannabis plants for further evidence of that) but, as Mrs Teddy said to me only today "You love your garden more than me". Of course that's only true some of the time.
The area is where they say the gods themselves took their holidays. Centaurs lived on these mountains. (The local folk are terrific horse-people which is where the legend came from). And in the second world war (still well remembered here through the bond of generations) the local men took to the hills and fought the toughest and longest resistance in Greece (that's saying something) against the Nazis. I know this is supposed to be about the place - but here the people are the place.
So last Friday I took a little walk to show you what's up the little mountain behind our house. We'd had a storm the previous night and it was grey the following morning. Here's what was looking ok in the garden first of all.
The plant hospital where sad roses get re-potted and mistaken plantings come to recover:
I love these Angel's Fishing Rods - height and movement:
Other flowers and fruits and veg:
Friday's tomato harvest. I planted too many. Now making chilli and tomato sauce to freeze like a maniacal Italian chef:
Here's St Haralambos' chapel at the back of our house. I wrote about it and the blessed martyr on my thread. Looking through a lavender hedge I planted. One thing that's surviving the drought well.
And some hanging baskets that I planted for the pergola. An unknown concept here. I can see people stop on the road below and comment. I always wanted to be part of the avant-garde.
And this is the view from the pergola:
So I walked up into the forest behind St Haralambos' chapel. There are two further chapels. The first, another 600m up is that of The Prophet Elijah. I've never made it to the third chapel which is at the top of the mountain. It's a good day's hike. The woods are full of beautiful old stone terraces - in previous centuries the land was heavily cultivated for apples, chestnuts, walnuts and mulberry trees for silk worms. Even now as one walks up you come across abandoned orchards. At this time of year, underfoot is rich in with wild sage and oregano. The smell of rich, damp earth and herbs on this morning was like a really good Pinot Noir. No photos of the herbs because I picked all I could find last month before they flowered and it's all hanging in our apotheki (pretty shed) drying.
The upper reservoirs are looking very dry.
And this is supposed to be a babbling brook
Plenty of hunting here for rabbits and wild boar. Both extremely tasty, so I don't object to the gunshots at night.
Oh, and I bumped into my chum Ageurre the goat-herd. We don't really understand a word the other says and spend all our time laughing. We are The Odd Couple.
And here are a couple of snaps of the coastlines - the Aegean and the gulf.
Thank you for inviting me to share this with you. For us this place is Paradise. And I've yet to find a snake in this New Eden. Although I have found a few shed skins.
to you all. Especially PeeJay.
I've tried to keep with the spirit of Cannafan's thread - something for the long winter-time she said. We live on the mainland (the islands are terribly isolated in winter). However, we are on a peninsular with a gulf on one side (easy, gentle beaches and busy at this time of year) and the Aegean on the other (dramatic coves, unmade roads, fewer tourists - guess my favourite) - so we're like an island on the mainland. We're about 400m up a mountain which is a blessing in this hot weather and in a couple of weeks we'll have been here a year.
The house was a new build and going for a song because of the terrible economic situation here. We couldn't have afforded it 6 or 7 years ago. So for the first time in my life I've been making a garden. From absolute scratch. Loads and loads of mistakes (see my cannabis plants for further evidence of that) but, as Mrs Teddy said to me only today "You love your garden more than me". Of course that's only true some of the time.
The area is where they say the gods themselves took their holidays. Centaurs lived on these mountains. (The local folk are terrific horse-people which is where the legend came from). And in the second world war (still well remembered here through the bond of generations) the local men took to the hills and fought the toughest and longest resistance in Greece (that's saying something) against the Nazis. I know this is supposed to be about the place - but here the people are the place.
So last Friday I took a little walk to show you what's up the little mountain behind our house. We'd had a storm the previous night and it was grey the following morning. Here's what was looking ok in the garden first of all.
The plant hospital where sad roses get re-potted and mistaken plantings come to recover:
I love these Angel's Fishing Rods - height and movement:
Other flowers and fruits and veg:
Friday's tomato harvest. I planted too many. Now making chilli and tomato sauce to freeze like a maniacal Italian chef:
Here's St Haralambos' chapel at the back of our house. I wrote about it and the blessed martyr on my thread. Looking through a lavender hedge I planted. One thing that's surviving the drought well.
And some hanging baskets that I planted for the pergola. An unknown concept here. I can see people stop on the road below and comment. I always wanted to be part of the avant-garde.
And this is the view from the pergola:
So I walked up into the forest behind St Haralambos' chapel. There are two further chapels. The first, another 600m up is that of The Prophet Elijah. I've never made it to the third chapel which is at the top of the mountain. It's a good day's hike. The woods are full of beautiful old stone terraces - in previous centuries the land was heavily cultivated for apples, chestnuts, walnuts and mulberry trees for silk worms. Even now as one walks up you come across abandoned orchards. At this time of year, underfoot is rich in with wild sage and oregano. The smell of rich, damp earth and herbs on this morning was like a really good Pinot Noir. No photos of the herbs because I picked all I could find last month before they flowered and it's all hanging in our apotheki (pretty shed) drying.
The upper reservoirs are looking very dry.
And this is supposed to be a babbling brook
Plenty of hunting here for rabbits and wild boar. Both extremely tasty, so I don't object to the gunshots at night.
Oh, and I bumped into my chum Ageurre the goat-herd. We don't really understand a word the other says and spend all our time laughing. We are The Odd Couple.
And here are a couple of snaps of the coastlines - the Aegean and the gulf.
Thank you for inviting me to share this with you. For us this place is Paradise. And I've yet to find a snake in this New Eden. Although I have found a few shed skins.
to you all. Especially PeeJay.
