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In Greece, like California, everything grows well and ends up on a plate or in a cup in the city. Flavours abound, sharp and fresh. Honey or olives are taken very seriously. Even in the heart of Athena’s ancient city, there are savoury things growing wild.<\/p>\n
The top photo is some rosemary I was given by a flirtatious groundskeeper in the amazing Stavros Niarchos gardens in Kallithea. Niarchos was a Piraeus shipping tycoon who built a gorgeous formal public garden, library and concert hall next to the harbour. It is designed with native Mediterranean plants in a setting that photos cannot capture. We went there often, Cloudy to write under the canopy of olive trees and free wifi, I to sketch and daydream.<\/p>\n
Camomille grows all over the green hills in the centre of Athens where Socrates strolled in his toga. It is available in every restaurant as tea, no question. I loved it. I drank it everyday usually more than once. Its smell is so flowery. I tucked fresh flowers into my button holes to sniff all day.<\/p>\n
At some point I was offered mountain tea, or Sideritis. Very next-level stuff. People pick it wild and bring it to cafes to sell. It is a detox tea. Cloudy objects to the word “detox” but he loves the tea. The little flowers taste a slightly bitter. We just finished our stash. So sad.<\/p>\n
Finally there is sage. It smells like clean earth to me. I put a dash of it into everything. I make a lot of soup. Vegetables, a wee bit of chicken, some stock, a few twigs of sage and bravo!<\/p>\n
Besides eating them, I’ve been thinking how to incorporate these green things into artwork. The shapes and lines and textures of the plants please me, like the cross-hatching I’ve discovered. At least I have found a way to photograph them. Not sure where this is heading….. but now I must depart for another city named for a wise woman: Sofia, Bulgaria!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Greece, like California, everything grows well and ends up on a plate or in a cup in the city. Flavours abound, sharp and fresh. Honey or olives are taken very seriously. Even in the heart of Athena’s ancient city, there are savoury things growing wild. The top photo is some rosemary I was given … <\/p>\n