Chelsea Physic Garden

On Saturday my sister-in-law and I had an early start, catching the train to London Euston, in order to be at the Chelsea Physic Garden for around 10 a.m. We decided to get a taxi from the station, and were treated to a guided tour through Regents Park and along the Kings Road. The sun was shining and London looked beautiful. We had made the journey to attend the Winter Meeting of the Mediterranean Plants and Gardens Organisation. The day started with a chance to admire the snowdrops, which are apparently early this year, morning coffee and a little gentle mingling with other members. It was the first time Pam and I had attended a meeting and we were made very welcome. After a few remarks from Heather Martin, John Fielding spoke about the events from last year and his presentation was accompanied by some very interesting and beautiful slides. The main event, however, was a talk on Eastern Mediterranean Bulbs. Many of the featured plants grow on Crete and the photo above shows Oron talking about Crocus boryi - one of the beautiful autumn flowering bulbs we all look forward to once the winter rains have started. Oron Peri is an expert plantsman, writer and photographer from Israel and his talk was interesting, amusing and informative. After a rather chaotic lunch, Oron talked on growing and caring for bulbs and the section on growing bulbs from seed was most interesting. All in all, a lovely, satisfying day, especially as I had acquired a copy of Oron's new book, Bulbs of the Eastern Mediterranean, which, of course, I had signed! Picture of Crocus boryi I took just before I left for the UK

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Website

Please check out my website http://www.flowersofcrete.info if you are interested in the wonderful wild flowers of Crete.

With stunning views across Mirambello Bay and Spinalonga island and a wealth of orchids in spring, this olive grove is one of my favourite places to sit and think.

Home thoughts from abroad!

Iris tuberosa, Himantoglossum robertiana, Silene colorata, Ophrys iricolor Four of the lovely flowers to be found in bloom on Crete in February. I am in the UK at the moment looking through photos from last year and looking forward to the coming season of flowers and friends.

For those of you who missed the information last year, I can confirm that seeds of the rare, endemic Himantoglossum samariense - Cretan Lizard Orchid are snuggled up safely in the laboratories of the Botanic Gardens of Budapest in the care of Eszter R. Ezeki and with the help of Erika Penzesne Konya of Eszterhazy Karoly Foiskola in Eger, Hungary. According to Eszter, it could take up to twelve months to germinate, so it isn't a quick fix. However, if we do manage to raise some viable plants, they will eventually be returned to the wild in safe areas in the west and east of Crete. I am so excited about this project, which has been built on goodwill and friendship and with the added help of the Chair and Committee of PlantaEuropa. Also to Tony Haskins and Willie Rumboll on the ground in Crete. Great job everyone!

Moments from last season

Sharing a meal together at Panorama taverna, exploring an ancient Turkish pack bridge, the wonderful Tulipa doerflerii.

Looking forward to!

Sitting inside, painting Cypripedeum calcalceous for an exhibition in Hungary in April, I am thinking about the flowers I am looking forward to seeing when I go back to Crete in March. One of these is the delicate and easily overlooked Neontinia maculate, which I have only seen a few times. It can be found growing amongst Tulipa cretica and many other ophrys and orchids in ancient pine forests high in the mountains not too far from Elounda.

Sunny days in Spring

The fields in early May are full of annual and biannuals in a wealth of colours. Here we have thousands of chamomile under the fruit trees, a vibrant field of poppies and daisies and students from Canada frolicking amongst vicia, daisies and poppies, with the occasional wild gladioli.

Bellevalia juliana

With many thanks to Steve Lenton for these images of the newly classified Bellevalia juliana, I am still so proud to be the person this lovely little flower was named for. I originally found the plant some ten years ago, and despite being told that it was Bellevalia sitiaca, I was not convinced. After getting in touch with Nick Turland, he agreed to come to see it in the area around Elounda. Having seen the small population there, he telephoned the University in Patras and Peppi Bareka (an expert on Bellevalia)flew over the next day to confirm that it was a new species. It then took quite a few years for DNA to be processed and papers written. Many, many thanks to all concerned for this wonderful honour.

Two sisters enjoying a carafe of local wine and an excellent meal at The Hope Taverna after an amazing day in the mountains and a professional Scandinavian photographer just sizing up the best shot!

Two orchids from late spring last year - Ophrys heldreichii and Orchis italic. Two beautiful and relatively easy to find orchids that appear towards the end of the season.

Another posting of 2015 trips to enjoy!

2015 was a wonderful year for lovely guests and amazing flowers. Busy, exhausting but full of fun. Cretan ebony - Ebenus creticus Fritillaria messanensis ssp sphachiotica - a recently re-classified Cretan endemic A group of Scandinavian walkers being guided for the day by me and enjoying a wonderful meal in the sun at the end of the day. Two guests from the UK enjoying the late summer sun and the spectacular views from a tiny church on a very windy headland.

Out and about last year!

A field full of chamomile and anemones and the native palm forest of Phoenix theophrastii at Vai. Two unforgettable sites from last year's trips.

Images from 2015 - a wonderful year!

Yesterday I spent a long time sorting through photos from last flower season - photos I was too busy to post then. So I thought I would post them now; a few each day. Anemone coronara, Arum creticum, breathtaking field of anemones in central Crete, Colin the jeep on a day trip to a remote plateau

Great day

A great day out today with lots of laughs. I was interviewed by Heidi Fuller-Love for the World Service - the programme should air in about a month's time - watch this space. Seven of us met at Elounda Krini hotel car park for a trip into the mountains to have lunch with Yiannis at his great mountain tavern. We found some lovely Sea Squill, a tiny Lactuca alpestris and a variety of thistles. We went to see if the wild peaony had any ripe seeds. We did find a few that had escaped the goats, but they were safe behind a high chain link fence. We had a walk on some Minoan steps, saw an eagle and a vulture, had coffee at the lovely little taverna behind Panagia Kera church, where the ladies had a little unexpected retail therapy. We finished the day with a glorious chip omelette and Greek salad. The weather was lovely - a cool breeze in the mountains which was very welcome. Two photos of our happy group today and a photo of 'dog' onions - sea squill bulbs (Charybdis maritimum)- so-called by Cretans because although they look like large onions, they are not edible.

German World Service

Today I am being interviewed for the German World Service Radio, about the work that I do on Crete and the naming of the Bellevalia juliana in my honour. The reporter Heidi Fuller-Love will come with us on a trip into the mountains to search for autumn flowering bulbs and the visit places of interest along the route. Our trip will take us to a medieval church to admire the ancient frescoes, to a deep cave that was once used for Goddess worship by the Minoans, then a chance to walk on a fragment of a Minoan pack route with its stone steps still visible. Higher into the mountains we will stop to search for autumn crocus, scilla, colchicum and much more. We will scan the skies for birds of prey such as eagles, buzzards and vultures before arriving at my friend Yianni's taverna on a remote plateau. After a lunch of omelette and salad, we will off-road to discover one of the world's rarest trees and to wonder at the breath taking scenery all around us. Should be a good day!

Pancratium maritimum

Had a wonderful day out today on the north coast to photographing Pancratium maritimum - the sea daffodil. These stunningly beautiful flowers bloom at the back of the beach from August through to October. They have a wonderful fragrance and it is just mind-blowing to think the this plant was known to the Minoan civilisation on Crete in pre-Christian times and the perfume we enjoyed today, is the same as they would have loved. Pancratium maritimum can be seen on Minoan pottery and on their wall frescoes on Crete and Santorini. We called at my friends taverna in Pachia Ammos for the best horta pies, flavoured with cumin, that I have eaten anywhere. Then back to Elounda for another delicious lunch at Vachus. Lovely, lovely day.

Am back home now on Crete and my Botanic Painting Course on Autumn Bulbs started yesterday. Tomorrow we are going to the beach to photograph and draw the flowers and bulbs of Pancratium maritimum. They will take some time to paint, but it will be a good exercise. The weather is very hot and humid, so it is fairly testing. My ladies are staying at Elounda Krini Hotel, which seems fine. It is very clean and quiet and we are able to sit in the shade by the pool to paint. We had a lovely meze lunch at Vachus restaurant and then a trip around the local jewellers. A day full of contrasts.

Botanic Books

How come all the books I have here in the UK that are concerned with flowers weigh so much? With regret I am having to leave my Dorling Kindersley book on herbs behind until I come over again for Christmas.