Category Archives: Plants

I watched a film the other day called ‘The Vow’ about a woman who had been in a coma and had woken up but had lost part of her memory so she couldn’t remember being married or her husband. The film focused on the attempts he made to help her to remember which included revisiting many of the places they’d been to whilst together and unfortunately none of them did.
The film got me thinking and I did a little research into memory, how it works and how it can be stimulated. It’s a complicated process, completely different to how a computer memory works according to some, for instead of storing information our brains use a series of stimuli gained from our senses to remind us of what we are ‘remembering’.
It covers simple things such as when we see a collection of marks on a piece of paper our brain follows the process like this…

It’s information, so it’s there to tell me something.

The marks look like letters so they must form words

The arrangement of the letters match with words I know

I can link them all up to read the message

I can understand the message being given by those marks

It’s the same when we meet someone again, our brain matches the face to all the faces we’ve seen in the past and if it’s one we’ve been introduced to it will then try to link the visuality of the face to a name.
And again when we taste food that we love or that we hate, memory has a big part to play. In the film, the woman was a vegetarian but because of her memory loss can’t associate the taste of bacon with her former life as a vegetarian.
Some of the most inspiring ones for me are the memories associated with smell and they’re one of the strongest memory joggers. I love the smell of newly made cotton which reminds me of gifts of clothing. Going into a room where onions are frying reminds me of my favourite dish my mum used to make whilst jasmine makes me think of a garden I loved years ago and the people that owned it. There’s perfume or aftershave that lingers on clothes or furniture or in the room that reminds us of our partners too and each time I smell scented stocks, I’m carried back to the summer evenings in my parents’ garden.
Giving flowers isn’t just a visual gift, you can more than double the effect by choosing scented flowers – research has shown that smell is one of the oldest senses and is even used by bacteria to be able to react to their environments.
If you want to create memories or just stir up some from days gone by, don’t just think about that flowers to give, think about what scents those flowers will have. If you’re not sure, the knowledgeable staff at Cosmea Gardens are willing and able to assist in helping you to give the gift of memories as well as flowers.

Although the weather is noticeably cooler, I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas, so it’s time for some tips on how to make your home look effortlessly festive.

I love poinsettia plants and although there’s a myriad of colours to choose from these days, I still love the ones with the red bracts. You can spice them up by putting them in a festive looking container or simply get a terracotta pot, paint it green and then when dry, daub some wood glue in patterns such as bells, snowflakes or Christmas trees around it and press on some contrasting glitter. Don’t forget to bung up the drainage hole before putting the plant in it or you’ll have a soggy mess on your table!

If you want to keep the pot plain, then a quick squirt of spray-on glue over the leaves, followed by a dusting of silver glitter gives an instant effect.

If you can get hold of any evergreen foliage, it doesn’t have to be holly or ivy, make up a wreath by intertwining the stems and tie in red or gold ribbon in bows, add small Christmas decorations or small sprayed pine cones – there are hundreds in Cyprus at the moment – then hang it on your door or over a fireplace.

Finally, if you can’t afford one of the really expensive real Christmas trees this year which, to be honest, won’t survive long in the Cypriot climate, buy an Araucaria, otherwise known as a Norfolk Island Pine, which looks exotically similar and which will grace your garden afterwards. A 1.2 metre specimen in a pot can be bought for around 20 euros, less than half the equivalent for a Norwegian Spruce. Check out Cosmea Gardens for their range of festive plants and have a Plant-astic Christmas this year.

I’ve never been in Cyprus in May or June before so this year is a new experience for me. Last weekend my wife and I went over to stay in Ayia Napa for a few days and she kindly drove. This gave me the chance to look around at the countryside, gradually dessicating in the strengthening summer sun but what amazed me was the beautiful sight of the Oleander bushes planted by the Cypriot transport authorities in the central reservation of the motorways.

I’d tried growing an Oleander at home in the UK with no success at all so to see the magnificent display here was breath-taking. It made me think of them as the Cypriot equivalent of the UK’s rhododendron displays.

Now I wondered whether I could do a display of Oleander in the house. I chose a selection of branches from a white and pink Oleander, being careful to wash my hands afterwards as the sap is extremely poisonous. The result was stunning and lasted nearly two weeks. The benefit with Oleander as a cut flower is that it has its own framing greenery, you can just put it in a vase and off you go. Being a semi-hardwood stem, you’ll need to break up the ends first with something heavy but then afterwards you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful display.

I was completely knocked out of the water though by a much simpler and elegant arrangement from my wife who simply took some wasted blooms and put them in a white china cup – so much for the years of study…..!!

if you haven’t got access to any Oleander, you can buy plants cheaply from florists and garden centres such as Cosmea Gardens. Don’t take too much off the plant in the first year though – you don’t want to ruin it!

I find that at times when I’m feeling a bit low, a visit to a florist or garden centre often brightens up my mood and so last weekend after returning from seeing my wife, I called in at Cosmea Gardens to look at all the beautiful plants and flowers they had for sale.

I love the bright colours and the beautiful fragrance of such shops but this time my eye was caught by a plant that seems popular in garden centres all across the island and it’s the Kalanchoe.

I remember them from my youth and their common name of ‘Flaming Katie’ because the only colour you used to be able to get back then was a scarlet red.

On this occasion I was faced with a carpet of nearly every colour you could imagine. White, yellow, pink, purple and the list goes on. I picked out three to go in a basket arrangement and brought them home.

Looking at them brightening up my lounge I was persuaded to find out more about them and so out came the Flower and Plant Encyclopedia.

Before too long I’d found out that they can grow up to 6m high (a little too big for my lounge) and that in some countries they are used as a treatment for hypertension.

I wasn’t sure whether it was just looking at them in their colourful glory made stress disappear or whether I’d have to eat some part of the plant but I though isn’t it amazing that a plant that does so much good, just because it’s bright, cheery and easy to look after, can also restore us with the helpful chemicals it contains.

Last weekend I had to go to my local DIY centre for some wood and even before I’d got close to the door I was struck by the glorious carpet of colour stretching out ahead of me.

The store had just taken delivery of a huge expanse of Poinsettia plants in every shade through from cream to burgundy. The plants were so perfect I didn’t think they were real and they were very good value for money too!

It got me thinking about where such a plant came from and why we buy millions of them at Christmas.

They were originally from Mexico and were mentioned in ancient Aztec writing. They got their name from Joel Poinsett, the first US Minister to Mexico. The Spanish that conquered Mexico called them the Christmas Eve plant or Nocha Buena. Its association with Christmas comes from the shape of the leaf whorl which is in a star shape like the star of Bethlehem. The deep red is to represent Christ’s blood on the cross. Another tradition says the plant’s association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where a young girl was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson “blossoms” sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias from the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.

At the end of my road there’s a Poinsettia ‘tree’ that must have been a relic from years gone by. Now about five metres high it’s beginning to display its colourful bracts just in time for the Chrstmas season.

Bring a bright splash of colour into your home this Christmas with a beautiful poinsettia from Cosmea Gardens.

Near where I live is the area known as Sea Caves/St George and it is a beautiful area that is slowly being spoiled by creeping development. For now though it’s an agricultural area that is dotted with pretty villas that overlook the stunning natural scenery.

I love cycling in the area, even though there’s a mile long hill down to the sea which I need to cycle back up at the end of my ride.

Last week I had a bit more time on my hands and spend a little of it exploring the area more thoroughly and was surprised at what grew there. I was able to find avocado trees laden with shiny fruit on long strands like some natural Christmas decoration. Further along there were guava trees with the air surrounding them pungent with the scent of the sweet ripe fruit. Oranges, mandarins, bananas, pomegranates and massive fig trees abuzz with bees and wasps looking for the split fruit spilling their sweet contents. Earlier in the summer there were peach and nectarine trees alight with the golden globes of juicy fruit. As I sat on the cliff edge eating the figs I’d gathered from the roadside I thought how close this must be to what the Garden of Eden was like, fruit in abundance provided as a result of warm sunshine and fresh water. I’ve turned my balcony into a little citrus grove but my exploration made me realise just how much more I could be growing. I’m looking forward to my next visit to Cosmea Gardens to find which other fruit trees I can add to my collection.

It’s amazing just how long summer, or for us gardeners, the growing season lasts. My school is next to a farm and whereas back home they’d be tidying up and ploughing the fields ready for the spring, here though it’s row after row of new plants, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and the list goes on. Getting the growing bug, I’ve invested in a truckload of soil, some sacks of compost and a few packets of seeds from Cosmea Gardens and I’m going to see just how long I can make summer last. I’ll be updating you in the coming weeks and months to make you all jealous as I crop tomatoes in November and pick fresh crisp lettuce at Christmas. I’m going to grow some of the more exotic bedding plants as well so not only will I have delicious freshly picked veg but also a beautiful garden in which to eat them!

I actually now have time to be able to look around me now my life isn’t so stressful and it’s amazing what I’ve been missing.

We had a barbecue today in a beautiful garden full of stunning colourful flowers but my wife wasn’t happy! Every time she sat back, or reached for a bite to eat, it was like crossing a motorway for the number of bees that were flying by or buzzing around her. She postulated that it would be a stress free, enjoyable barbecue were it not for the bees and wished that there weren’t so many flowers there that kept attracting them. I thought about it and said that yes, were there no flowers there’d be no bees but equally, were there no bees, there’d be no flowers and wouldn’t that make for a dull world. Another friend ventured that it was her getting in the way of the bees, not the other way round and that if she was careful to let them go about their business then they’d be unlikely to bother her. A few moments of deep breathing later and she began to ignore them and they, her. Everyone happy then and a wonderful afternoon was had by all. Help make the world a beautiful place by encouraging pollinating insects – and even birds! – into your garden. Choose scented, bright flowering plants from Cosmea Gardens and you’ll be doing your bit too!

Just discovered that even great beauty has a nasty side. I’ve got a beautiful Bougainvillea growing over my fence. It grows like crazy and I needed to trim it back. Easy, I thought and dug out the secateurs and shears and began work not realising that hidden beneath the beautiful bracts were lethal 5 cm spikes that soon shredded my hands and ruined the T-shirt I was wearing. After unsuccessfully trying to avoid injury I resorted to the electric hedge trimmer and really set about it. I still had the problem if picking up the clippings without getting impaled.

Made me wonder why, when breeders can develop thornless blackberries etc, why we can’t have a thornless Bougainvillea but then at least you’d hope you’d get a health warning when you buy one! Come on Cosmea Gardens, can you help?

I hope you all missed me! I went on a trip last week with some children from school and it meant that all week I didn’t have access to a computer.

What I did have access to was the most wonderful plant experience I’ve ever encountered. We took the children to the Eden Project in Cornwall UK and explored everything to do with plants.

We saw the world’s largest flower, the world’s most repulsively perfumed flower and some really unusual flowers that caught the eye with the way they didn’t seem to follow the way flowers normally look. All in all a great experience.

Anyway, now I’m back and I wanted to tell you that if you’re ever in Cornwall then the Eden Project is a must see. We all do flower arranging and think we know lots about them but what struck me most was when I could see them growing in a replication of their natural surroundings. From time to time I like to tell you a little about flowers you might use in arrangements and hopefully it will help you to understand the flowers a little more. The first one I’ll tell you about in my next post is Agapanthus.