Rocks and Flowers



Rocks and Flowers

 

I was reading Heidi Gildemeister’s book when looking up her comments on apricot trees and I found myself reading again the chapter on ‘Gardening among Rocks’. And I thought ‘that’s what we have to do here.’ As she writes ‘any mediterranean gardens are distinctly rocky.’

She goes on to write that rocks have a highly sculptural quality, and that they provide good growing conditions for roots to find a cool root rut and secure anchorage.

 





A plant finding a cool root run



                                                                                    A plant taking advantage of a cooler spot





We do not have the outstanding rocky outcrops of her garden, which enhance her designs, but we did have an abundance of rocks to build walls and edge paths.

No rocky outcrops in our garden

As I consider what we have done I’ve noticed I used the following as guidelines.

 

Traditional Japanese Gardens?

 



An exquisite Japanese style garden



                                                                                                A traditional use of rocks

Not for me in the Mediterranean

 

Traditional Rock Gardens?

 

Not for me, too much weeding

 



Beautiful to look at but what a lot of work!

The traditional rock garden, well weeded!

In Crevasses as in Nature?

 

Yes, good idea, translated to pots

 

A cactus mimicking a crevasse plant

Pelargoniums always work well in a mediterranean garden

In or On Walls?

 

That too suits our Lemnian garden, where we have stone walls in abundance. I have found that the walls and pillars give some shade at certain times of the day. Plus offering a wonderful aesthetic combination; a solid background against which the colour and texture of the flowers are enhanced.

  





The front wall and a climing morning glory plant







 

 

 

 



The back wall and yellow Canna Lillies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around Stone Pillars

Again we have used this idea a lot in our mediterranean garden. Our pillars give shape and height to the garden, plus and shaded beds at their foot, and a place for flowers to nestle or climb, offering shade on nearby terraces and paths.



Roses and pillars, how classic!

 

Pillars, gravel, and succulents

 

 

A magnolia flower with our stone house in the background

 

Apricot Trees and Recipes

 
 Apricot Trees and Recipes

 

Our tree after I'd picked most of the fruit

Apricot trees seem to do well on the island. To have an apricot tree is a very proud accomplishment as apricot trees are not something I’ve had before. Here we have one that is flourishing. We might never be there to see the blossom but fruit ripens soon after we arrive. Some years the tree is heavily ladened with fruit, though not every year. The glut year I make up batches of compote and freeze for later in the year. One year we were not there in time and a neighbour offered to pick them for us and make up batches of apricot jam. Takis prides himself on his jam so was very critical of the jam that Costa brought around for us when we arrived. He had added cinnamon to the mixture and my chef thought that spoilt the flavour. However I found that made into an almond and apricot pie it was just right.

Ripening Fruit

 Heidi Gilemeister, whose book introduced me to the Mediterranean Garden Society, writes that an apricot tree lights up the garden in late winter with its early blooms and goes on to say that one should be careful when planting an apricot tree as they need to have very good drainage. She recommends plums as being hardier. I have never been in Greece to see my apricot in bloom. Evidently my tree likes where it is planted as it has had a wonderful harvest of fruit for the last three summers. However I’m still trying to get a good fruiting plum. I wrote before of one that large enough to be ladened with fruit but then the minute I’d picked the crop it died!

 

Early spring blossoms

Apricot Fruit

Some tips from the internet, National Gardening Association Editors

Water

Apricots need water consistently throughout the growing season. Lack of moisture in early summer will result in small fruits; later in the season, it can interfere with bud set for next year's crop. You will probably need to water deeply every 10 to 14 days if there is no rain. Where there is plenty of moisture in the winter and spring, you may need to water only three or four times during the summer.

Ripe Fruit

Frost

Since apricots bloom very early and many flowers may be killed by frost, wait until after petal fall to prune.

Takis cutting up apricots for jam

 

Harvest

The harvest season for apricots is July in mild climates and August in colder ones, though different varieties can be slightly earlier or later. (In Lemnos the apricot season seems to be early June) Expect 3 to 4 bushels of fruit from a full-size tree. Pick the fruits after they attain a rich apricot colour and give slightly when pressed. (In Lemnos a strong wind can cause them to drop so it’s best to pick just before they get too ripe and at the dropping stage.)

 

The apricot season is short, so try to plan around it. If you leave for a 2-week vacation at the crucial time, you may come back to bushels of spoiled fruit on the ground.

  

Eating and Preserving

As they all ripen at once you need to have some contingency plans as to what to do with them. I have now found I have diabetes and so I avoid recipes with too much sugar, and if a little sweetening is needed I use Fructose, sparingly.

 

I don’t need to tell you that eating them fresh is the very best way to deal with them. But you find you cannot eat so many, and they are ripening too fast you can…..

 

1.      Some of the Best

Put some of the best, unmarked and unbruised, in the fridge, they will keep about a week.

2.      Cooked.

     Use bruised and marked apricots with a little Fructose. Cut in half and remove stone and marked parts, then cook until they just come to the boil, are softened, but not too much. Cools slightly and put in cleaned ice-cream containers and freeze.

Frozen Apricot Compote

3.      Apricot Jam.

This is a classic product, and used for topping a Linzer Torte (an almond and apricot cake).

A Linzer Torte

 Jam.

I.5 kg (3lb 5oz) halved and stoned apricots, chopped

Juice of 2 lemons

¾ up water

1.5 kg (3lb 5oz) sugar

Crease a large saucepan with butter. Add apricots, lemon juice and water and stew over medium heat until apricots are soft. Add sugar and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Continue to boil until setting point is reached, stirring frequently or jam will catch.

Pour into warm sterilized jars and seal immediately.

Store for up to 12 months in a cool dark place. Refrigerate after opening.

Makes approximately 1.5kg (3lb 5oz)



Apricot Jam (some made with sugar for Takis and some with Fructose for me)

4.      Apricot and Citrus Fruit Butter

(good to have with cold chicken or cheese)

 1/5 kg (3lb 5oz) halved and stoned apricots

Zest and juice of 2 oranges, juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup of water.

Sugar

 Combine apricots, orange juice and zest, and lemon juice in a large saucepan.

Add water and cook for 30 min. or until apricots are very tender. Stir often.

Pass mixture through a sieve and return to cleaned saucepan.

For every 3 cups of puree add 2 ½ cups of sugar. (I used less)

Bring to the boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue to boil stirring constantly for 30 mins, or until mix is thick.

You could pour it into jars at this stage but I put the mixture into foil-lined pans in the oven and continued to dry the mixture for another hour and half. It is now very thick. I scooped it up into jars at this stage. We had some last night with chicken for supper, it was superb.

 



Apricot Curd

  5.   Lastly Apricot Curd.

I love lemon curd and thought that I could never eat this sweet again but now I’ve found a way. It has to be kept in the fridge after it is made and used within 3 weeks so you only make a small amount, unless you’re going to use it for cooking (how about a curd filled sponge?)

 

500g (1 lb 2 oz) diced apricots

Juice of 1 lemon, ½ cup water

400g (14 oz) sugar

4 eggs lightly beaten

150g (5 1.2 oz) butter

 

Place apricots, lemon juice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally and cook until apricots are soft. Puree. Add sugar and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly as mixture may catch. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs and butter. Return to a very low heat and stir constantly until thickened (do not allow to boil).

Pour into warm sterilized jars and seal immediately then store in the fridge.

Makes approximately 750g (1 lb 10 oz)

(A note: Takis and I reuse jam jars and their lids. This may not be recommended practice but works for us. And the jars do not all seal, but most do. Also we both have different ways of sterilizing and heating our jars. I just use the hot water from the tap. He puts his jars in the oven to heat up.)

Books Referred to

Sally Wise, A year in a Bottle, Sally Wise, an ABC Book

 

Heidi Gildemeister, Gardening the Mediterranean Way: Practical Solutions for Summer-dry Climates, Thames and Hudson.

 

 

My Lace Curtains

My Lace Curtains

 

Women’s Work

 

In his book Deeds of Men Christos Kasolis writes about the deeds of women. He writes that,

 

In their daily routine of housework, women did a lot of chores which defined their traditional role. Women prepared the bread dough, transported it on wooden planks pinakoti to the community oven, where they had it baked and where other women, bakers took care of the rest. They washed at community laundries, places you could find in every village, built next to the communal water spring or well. In addition to the laundry which was washed in the carved stone basins of the facilities, the women found a chance for togetherness and amusement. They also made food supplies, like noodles, dried figs, whole fruit in syrup, as well as useful and pretty embroidered items such as lace and a variety of needlework.

 

Pretty nets, for the kitchenette

Lace-Making Styles

 





 

 



A lace maker

In Christos’ book are illustrations of one type of lace making using bobbins, but there are many others. I’m interested in lace making as I used to crochet, with a hook, and tat with a shuttle. I made a lot of table mats most of which were given away as presents. Lace work is often added to embroidered cloths, as inserts, and various thickness of threads make it light as a feather, or heavy enough for a bedspread.

Crochet work

 



This was once a lace shawl bought in the Agora.



 

Two styles in the bathroom. Machine made and handmade over the panes

An Old Craft

 



A peice made by my neigbour





Curtains she made for her house

My neighbours on Lemnos have shown me their lace work prepared as part of their dowry. When they made these beautiful items they were younger, and their eyesight was good, and they made curtains, tablecloths and bed spreads. One kind lady has opened up her bottom drawer and taken out items to show one or two of my overseas guests who have a similar interest in lace-work. I think this is an art that is being lost as nowadays most people’s evening relaxation tends to be around a TV, or out in a local bar.

  

Different Styles for Different Rooms

 

On the middle floor, with pictures of Takis grandfather and greatgrandmother.



On old lace curtain in our dining room

In our house I have a lot of net and lace curtains. Some are hand made and old, some are machine made and other ordinary net. I have sourced them from various places but they add something special to each room.

I bought these curtains from a passing Russian salesman



And six pairs of net curtain for the top floor windows, all from Ikea

Painted Ceilings

Painted Ceilings

 What we did was something I have not seen in other places but I believe works well by referencing the traditional style of ceiling decoration. I chose a colour for each room and paint the whole ceiling in a very pale shade of that colour then highlights the moldings in a darker shade of that colour.



Patterns used by the craftsmen on the ceilings found in Dimitris Philppides, Greek Design and Decoration: Three Centuries of Architectural Style.







One of our ceilings





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elaborate 18C Painted Ceilings

 

After the earthquake I wrote about the construction of old Venetian houses. That reminded me of another distinctive aspect of these houses, their ornate ceilings. In Greece the ceilings in these houses are usually the underside of the boards that form the floor of the room above. To make the underside more attractive moldings cover the gaps between these planks. But these moldings are often made into even more decorative patterns and are painted. The painted ceilings were often extended to include a frieze around the top of the walls.

 

From an illustration in Philippides book of the Manousis mansion in Siatista.

 These Venetian homes were built when times were good for certain families. In many cases this was after a grandfather had gone from being shoeless and starving, to being wealthy beyond his dreams. The wealth usually did not last beyond one generation but while it was there these families built large homes back in their villages. This was in part a desire to be in a familiar place and in part a way to show off their wealth. Though these was not entirely a selfish wish as their wealth also brought benefits back to the village, providing work for others, and often was donated to provide schools and churches.

 During the 18C there were groups of craftsmen who travelled from place to place across a wide geographical area building these homes and other structures. Many of these sinafia, seasonally mobile teams, came from Epirus, western Macedonia, Thrace and central Peloponnese. It seems probable that these were the master craftsmen who then employed locals to work for them.

 



Our Painted Ceilings

 

The dining room is dark and the ceiling low so in this room the ceiling is all white

I wanted to keep our house light and planned to paint walls and woodwork cream. However I thought we could copy this old tradition and put colour onto the ceilings. Our ceilings are not as complicated in design - or in colour - as those of old. I did consider putting a frieze around the walls but that also seemed too complicated for our more modern tastes.

A bedroom on the middle floor with a peach ceiling

 



The middle floor has normal ceilings of a more height, and although we added some colour it was muted.

 In the study-cum TV room was to be cream with green. The ceiling is thus light green with a darker green molding. The top floor bedroom was to have mauve and violet aspects so the ceiling (which has more decoratively finished moldings than other rooms) was painting a very pale violet with three slightly darker shade of moldings, and florettes of maroon.

 

 



The mauve top floor bedroom with a high and elaborate ceiling





A 'green' room on the top floor.

This high ceiling is in a hall on the top floor. It is painted with colours found in nearby rooms.



 

Reference

 

Dimitris Philppides, Greek Design and Decoration: Three Centuries of Architectural Style. Melissa Publishing House.1999

Lemnian Venetian Houses



Lemnian Venetian Houses

Traditional Venetian Mansions



The bay in Myrian, with Venetian houses of various styles and ages

Around Myrina, on the hills, at the port, along the seafront a mixture of offical and private Venetian style houses.



The Archbishop's House





The Local Museum



 

The boundaries of house styles correlate with those of past conquerors, and with trade. This does not necessarily correspond to today’s national borders. When you look at a map of Lemnos you can see that its architecture would have been influenced in the past by that of Constantinople, by ideas brought back by traders in the Black Sea, and by trader with Asian ports down what is now the Turkish coast.

 



A Private Home, on Romeikos Gia Los





There have also been long periods of Venetian rule in the Greek mainland and the islands, including Lemnos. That period varies from place to place, but overall it lasted from the 13C to the 17C. In the Aegean this rule extended was until the end of the 18C and the influence of this style continued under the French and British.

 



Traditional houses on the hills around Myrina, before modern cement reproductions





Lemnian mansions appeared in the 18C as a result of a liberalizing of trade within the Ottoman Empire. In the case of our house this resulted in Takis great grandfather going to Alexandria to set up a business, a business in which his grandfather was later employed. Here the traders encountered more Western building and decorating styles.

 



A renovated private home, showing the Turkish influence



 

But this period also covered difficult times in Greece, with external and internal wars, earthquakes, and famine. This boom and bust in the economical fortunes of many families meant that when things were good the traders would pour money back into their home island estates and villages and at other times these houses might be left desolate. In good times teams of workers would be called in to construct the superb mansions that still can be seen in parts of Myrina and other places in Greece.

 



The port in Myrina, lined with tavernas and hotels showing various styles





In our house one can see that an old house has been altered to obtain a more neo-classic style with a central door and windows placed symmetrically. But there is also an Ottoman influence on the ground floor, with the large open entrance with windows looking down on it from above. There is also a noticeable Alexandrian influence with a more Western decorating style – the light blue colour of early paintwork, and the use of framed pictures rather that the more eastern painted walls.

2. Traditional Local Homes

Neighbours outside their mother's old house

Single story with tile roofs, or two story with a basement.

 



3. New Homes



A new home, housing various generations

Grand reproductions, often housing various generations of the same family on each floor - or a floor may be let to other local inhabitants.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday units, without top floors - yet!

Often homes are built without being finished; probably hoping to develop as self-catering summer lets.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Beautiful Hotel, now empty for at least 8 years!

Very large hotels are often empty. These struggle to make a living as Myrina only fills with tourists for two months of the year. 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Myrina as in Athens - an Intermingling

In most suburbs you’ll see Venetian mansions, smaller homes, new reproductions and ruins, side by side.

A typical Athenian scene, showing the mix of old houses and new architecture

 



A private house and another turned into a taverna





The mixture of private and comercial houses on Romeikos Gia Los



5. Maintenance of Seaside Homes!





The large old mansion, before paintig and renovation



 



A large old mansion, now renovated by the local council







Anestis repainting our house, an almost yearly job!