Tag Archives: summer

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.

I was feeling a bit low for a week or so and I think it’s because it’s autumn, even in Cyprus, and the days are getting shorter, the weather’s unsettled and the temperatures have dropped considerably – but should I really be that depressed about it all?

We’ve got plenty of friends back in the UK who’ve said that the constant rain, gale force winds and even darker days are making them miserable and when I look out of the window, I now feel a little ashamed. For here in Cyprus, now is the time when you can get out and see the island without being exhausted by the heat or dripping with perspiration. There are still many sunny days and warm evenings and if it does rain, it’s all over in minutes and the sun shines again.

My guilt came out in talking to my parents who hadn’t been out of their flat in days because the weather was so bad. They’d decided to live off the food in their freezer and sit in and watch TV, shutting the world and the weather out. It would be cruel to describe our sunny, warm but very windy day to them and so I decided to send them a bit of sunshine in a bouquet of flowers from Cosmea Gardens.

I’m a great believer that flowers lift even the darkest of moods and they really appreciated the thought, only I then got to thinking – wasn’t I the one that was feeling low? Again, part of the joy of sending flowers is in the giving and seeing the look on the faces of those receiving them, and after all, I’ve still got sunshine so perhaps I should count my blessings!

All summer long I’ve been mesmerised by the sight of trees on the road past Coral Bay outside Paphos which have bright green frond-like leaves and vivid scarlet flowers with yellow centres. To say they’re striking is an understatement and I’ve spent ages trying to find out what they are.

I recently holidayed on my second favourite island, Cuba, and saw the same trees there. A local told me that they were called Flame Trees and when I got to a computer I found out that they’re also called the Royal Poinciana and they have been voted into the top five most beautiful trees in the world.

I looked at them in a new light once I’d returned from my holiday and find that each time I pass the tree I’m reminded of my holiday. I got to thinking about flowers that evoke memories and talked to my parents about flowers that brought back memories for them such as Montbretias that remind my dad of his mother and lilac that reminded my mum of her mother. For me, roses always remind me of my wife as they’re her favourite celebration flowers and I’ll be buying some more on Saturday for it’s her birthday. Try thinking about the flowers that bring back memories for others and stir up some with a bouquet from Cosmea Gardens.

I’ve just spent over a month in the UK experiencing what you might call the English summer which, with its usual washout had left gardens and parks looking dull and bedraggled. All it did was to make me wish for the sunnier climate of Cyprus so last Wednesday we grabbed the easyJet flight out of Gatwick and headed for the sun. Before leaving, I texted a friend to ask them to open up the windows so it wouldn’t be too oppressive in the apartment.

We arrived late in the evening and struggled with our bags up the stairs and flung open the door, glad to be home. I wasn’t prepared though for the surprise that greeted us when we went into the dining room for they had organised a bouquet of all my favourite flowers that brighten the island so even though it was dark when we arrived we immediately had a taste of what we’d missed back in the UK. There were the roses that bloom through the most intense heat set against white bougainvillea that in the garden looks like fresh snow in the wintry sun backed with rolled banana leaves. What an amazing creation I thought and looked at the label that accompanied them – Selected and hand-tied especially for you by Cosmea Gardens I should have known!

So it goes to show that if you want something really special or just to say something as simple as ‘Welcome home’ Cosmea Gardens are the ones to help.

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!

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!