Flowers and gardens in Cyprus

19 Dec '05 4:50 am

I went with my family recently to * bay in the south of Cyprus, for a last escape holiday to warmer climes before the winter set in.

Both the village and the grounds where we stayed had put a lot of effort into their gardens, and it was a riot of colour even in October. The colours contrasted against the dry orange Cyprus soil.

I could identify few of the plants, and so hopefully our own Greek expert will be able to name the plants for me - Liza...?!

Apparently the temperatures reach over 40 degrees in the summer so I can't imagine how these plants flourish so well.

19 Dec '05 6:17 am

Well, it is amazing ,Bex, but your flowers in the beautiful photos answer perfectly to Rebekah's question about gardening in a dry soil!

And here we go:

In the first photo you have a lovely Nerium Oleander, exactly the same color with those two I have in my green house right now, planted in two big pots! They have moved here from Greece ....10 years ago! I was so happy when I saw this lovely photo!

The second one is a beautiful Lantana! I forgot to mention this absolutely fabulous dry soil lover to Rebekah! It exists in many multicolored flower varieties. It is covered by blooms throughout summer and more! It reminds me a lot of the short, annual Verbena.

The third one is a very rare Bougainvillea variety: a double one! My God! What a color!

The fourth one is a succulent , exactly like those I suggested to Rebekah, planted in those special terracota pots.

The fifth one, is --probably-- a...Gardenia, like those two I have in my.....living room right now! And I say "probably", because I cannot distinguish fully the flower shape. You know, every "decent" Greek gardener has one Gardenia -at least- in his/her garden, either in a pot or directly in the soil, if the winter permits ( not under 5C).

And here you have again an adorable Bougainvillea!

This plant should be a Callistemon (meaning " Beautiful Branches" in Greek). It can grow as tall as a small tree, if the winter is soft like the Cyprus's one.

In the nineth photo you very probably have a small Olive Tree.

And this lovely orange bloom is an orange Bougainvillea! Yes! This magical beauty exists in many colors!

And here you have a blue Morning Glory.

This one I have no idea what it is! My mum was telling me when little, I should not eat it!

And that's it with your lovely colorful photos, dear Bex!
Thank you for the warm feelings and the experience to make me talk of these..."Greek " plants.

P.S.
Sorry, for the wrong previous spelling of the... "Boongavilea" and "Kallistemon" in my text! I don't want to find excuses, but in Greek these two plants are actually pronounced "Boongavilia" and "Kallistemo", respectively...

19 Dec '05 7:05 am

Thank you for your prompt and thorough answer, Liza! Glad you like the photos Very Happy

I'll go back now and add in your names next to the pictures...

Do you really think these plants really survive in Rebekah's new garden? It sounds like she's moving to the wild south west!

19 Dec '05 8:08 am

Of course, I do believe so! If they successfully survive in Cyprus and in the windy, salty, dry islands of The Aegean Sea, why not in Rebekah's garden-- provided the winter temperatures don't fall under zero Celsius .

19 Dec '05 8:09 am

Good point!

19 Dec '05 8:37 am

Dear Bex! I really have to add:

If the white -probable- Gardenia you saw in Cyprus was a pot plant, then yes! In your photo it is probably a Gardenia.

But if it was a plant directly grown in the ground, then IT IS NOT a Gardenia.

Because Gardenia is a rather "difficult" plant , an accid soil lover, needing partial shade, fresh, light soil, and being sprayed often with water clouds, in dry climates.

You can meet this lovely plant happily and naturally growing around and by the lake Como in Italy. Because here she meets her needs.

25 Jan '06 5:11 am

Greetings, I have only just arrived at this area of Moosey`s garden website.
I recognised some of the plants in the photos.Nz has what is generally referred to as a Mediterranean climate;The Greek Islands have always appealed to me as a place to visit-I guess the music such as 'Zorba' and 'the lotus eaters' has influenced me as well as the unique scenery colours.
The plant in the pot is a 'Dracaena'.It is grown as a pot plant here and is very frost tender. It has fabulous architectural qualities for those that like that style. In NSW,Australia a few years ago I noticed whole hillsides covered in 'lantana'. Our hosts told us that it had become a noxious plant.I think that in NZ folk are wary of it too, now.
The beautiful vine with the blue flowers(morning glory) is a bad weed here, more commonly a pink flower. It is called 'convolvulus'. It clambers over hedges and is difficult to eradicate.On the peat of the Hauraki Plains it keeps popping up and advances rapidly over the ground.(my daughter is always battling it)
I do like this section. I would like to visit everything-the atmosphere as well as the scenery-
Dixie.

25 Jan '06 5:49 am

It is really great that you recognized the succulent pot plant! Dracaena! "Dracaina" in Greek is a huge , female, terrifying monster, looking like a Dinosaur, having its roots in the Ancient Greek Mythology! Wow!

Concerning Morning Glory, the botanical name of the blue "vine" in the photo, is "Ipomea Hederacea". Convolvulus is a bushy plant, the Dwarf Morning Glory, normally blue, with yellow and white centre (:you can see Moosey's blue Convolvulus here: go to Home, then choose "Perennials"). But there is a special pink Ipomea Purpurea, which is also listed as Convolvulus Major; because , as the pink N.Z. plant you describe, it is a pink climber and not a short bushy blue plant like its "cousins" .

Cheers!

25 Jan '06 9:42 am

The origin of the Dracaena`s name has a sort of 'shuddery' feel to it.I "babysat"my son`s two dracaenas for 6 months, along with his other tropical leafy spiky thingees so beloved by Aucklanders.He has them in tall( 60-70cms) narrow red containers, and they do look effective at a house entrance.In warm light shade their spiky leaves became deep green.
I looked up convolvulus through google, and it does seem that several specimans answer to the name.Here it is the vine that is the common understanding of the name. I was so pleased to find 'Burkes Back Yard' as a reference on the same website, as I enjoyed the programme so much when it showed here (It`s Australian)Dixie.

25 Jan '06 6:15 pm

Dixie, the fact that you search like this in the internet to find out things concerning the flowers you are interested in, makes me feel so really well! I found a ...partner in my ...flower addiction! Maybe in the future , we can exchange really great information in this field!

And, poor Dracaena plant! An ugly name for a lovely plant.. It is like "ugly " humans (who never really exist...) with a heart of gold...Well...

Cheers!

Flowers and gardens in Cyprus

Flowers and gardens in Cyprus

Your photos for Rebekah's future...dry garden!

plants identified!

Dry gardens...

Garden survivors

And especially about Gardenia.

plants in photos

Hi, Dixie!

interesting information, Liza.