Green and Brown

 

The island earth hasn't dried out completely.  There's still a touch of colour along road sides, clumps of late red poppies, fading daisies in the midst of dry grasses and dusty patches of brown.  Our garden is a bit of both.

It's fire season now and by June 15th everyone should have strimmed their long tall grass and bundled it up to be taken away.  That means piles of big black rubbish bags all around the big Municipal bins.  It's the only way to get rid of garden rubbish now.  If you've got a large property like some of our neighbours the trimmed grass is just left to lie and dry.  I suppose at least it keeps any fires lower to the ground.

No more fires till November.  We took out fire insurance last summer on the house.  The wild fires around Athens were catastrophic. It was so upsetting seeing all those people who had lost homes and livelihoods.  The government provides a small sum for the basics of life but it's hardly a drop in the bucket if you've lost your home.

 

Pots of herbs in the front garden.  Here is my mint in lovely ceramic 'containers'.  They'll need constant watering by midsummer.  Around them are pots of summer herbs.  Thyme, oregano, lavender and rosemary.  Thank goodness for my herbs.  They live and thrive whatever I do to them

The amaryllis this year is incredible.  It's another flower which thrives and flowers year after year whatever I do to it.

Our English neighbour trimmed her driveway so we have a small fire break from the ........

very dry and extremely overgrown property next door.  It has been inherited by a number of children who live in Athens.  They come  every few years, look at it and drive away back to the city.  They've been trying to sell it for years but are asking far too much.  The land has a dozen or more olive trees which  produce olives every few years.  Their cousins, who live on the island, gather the olives and that's it. The land is left to grow wild

A team of council workers will come and clear the verges and take the cut dry grass away.  They've started trimming now but there is a lot of roadside to clean before they get to us