Gift of Green Fire and Other Strange Encounters Read online

  In the East figs are used to treat skin infections and boils, and warts shrink if the milky juice of the fresh fruit is applied. Fig wood is pliable and has been used for making theatre seats, while the sycamores species, which grows wild in parts of the Middle East, has a durable yet light wood from which the Egyptians made mummy cases.

  Tamarisks (tamarix cretica) tower on the beach near my house This tree symbolised youth and beauty and was yet another sacred to Aphrodite. It is said Myriki, daughter of Kinyas, king of Cyprus and sister of Adonis, was turned into a tamarisk.

  And there are exotic trees from the south. The Persian Lilac or Indian Bead tree (melia azedarach), has poisonous yet beautiful yellow fruit whose seeds have been used to make worry beads and rosaries. Its bluish purple flowers are reminiscent of lilac.

  The Silk tree (albizzia julibrissin), from northern Persia, is one of the most elegant trees to grow, with feathery leaves and white or pink flowers like sensuous strands of silk.

  The Pomegranate (punica granatum) is one of the most potent symbols of fertility, good luck, health and wealth. An old custom was to break a pomegranate at the door of a house at New Year.

  The pomegranate was sacred in the cult of Hera. Pausanias found a statue of her, that has since been lost, holding a pomegranate at her sanctuary in Argos. Persephone was condemned to live part of the year in the Underworld because by eating a pomegranate while she was there, she ended up marrying Hades. The fruit was sacred to Athena and Aphrodite.

  The pulp is used to make soft drinks and sherbet and the rind and flowers of the unripe fruit contain a red dye.

  And, of course, there is the avocado (persea americana) with which we began. This is evergreen and grows up to 20 metres. It is easy to grow - unfruiting - in the garden, but otherwise hard to cultivate because its fruit has only one seed. Each new tree grows wild and has to be grafted in July with the desired variety to produce a crop on young shoots whose seeds were planted the preceding winter.

  The avocado came to Crete 20 years ago and the Department of Agriculture has experimented with hybrids to find out which best suit the Cretan climate. The trees have grown well on the plain of Mesara near Mires and on the outskirts of Hania in the west. It does need to be sheltered from the high west winds that blow here, but at least it does not need fertilising or pruning.

  The tiny white flowers, with a pleasing scent, grow at the top of branches in March and April. The fruit is ready in the autumn and contains the single seed resembling an egg. The edible part surrounding it is rich in vitamins. Furniture is often made from the wood of the sturdy trunk and branches.

  My avocado loses its leaves every winter but in spring, shortly after I have identified its bare twig, new leaves appear and it flourishes once more.

  BACK TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

  The olive tree has shone for centuries in the southern sun. Its trunk has slowly grown, twisted, strengthened; an eloquent extension of the elements.

  Its leaves flutter with exuberance for it is venerated and produces a fruit that has sustained man for centuries. The tree grows on the edge of the sea in the garden of Tom Darke - a writer of thrillers set in exotic places. He has planted aloes, hibiscus, bougainvillea, jasmine. And he plans a pool with rare fish where the olive stands.

  Since his white-walled house is surrounded by ancient olives, he will fell the olive on the pool site. As he circles it, admiring its venerable intricacy, he coldly measures the surrounding ground for the fish pool.

  The olive is wise. She perceives change, just as she foresees a coming sirocco from the south that will batter her into a frenzy and coat her leaves with sand. Or an earthquake that will rattle her old roots and break her branches. But she cannot speak to man. She can only offer, year after year, her harvest of fruit.

  She has provided food, light, incense. She has cured wounds, fever and recalls when her fruit was an offering to the gods. Eirini, the goddess of peace, a daughter of Zeus and Themis, held an olive branch. It was a symbol of peace and was brought by a dove to the Ark as the flood receded.

  Darke knows that a 60,000 year old fossil of a leaf was found and in Zakros, not far from where he lives, on Crete, offerings were placed in a well to appease the gods as tremors forecast a major earthquake 3,500 years ago.

  He continues measuring for the pool as the olive tree shimmers in the sun. Darke goes indoors to work on his latest book. But he is compelled to take a volume of mythology from the shelf and turn to the story of the first olive tree.

  Athena and Poseidon, god of the sea, had both wanted to govern Athens. The gods promised the city would be ruled by whoever offered the most valuable gift.

  Poseidon confidently struck the rock by the Acropolis with his trident and out gushed fresh water. “What could be more valuable than water?” he declared.

  Athena quietly smiled and stabbed her javelin three times into the earth near the rock. From it rose the first olive tree, dancing with sunlit grace and the promise of longevity. Her gift was chosen by the gods.

  Amused, Darke closes the book and goes to bed. But his sleep is haunted by the blurred image of an ancient olive stirring uneasily in the breeze and softly weeping as though with winter rain. Slowly it turns into a green-grey woman, her long hair shot with the dark bloom of a ripe olive. She turns on Darke eyes rife with sorrow and recollection. He shudders and wakes with a start. Sleep evades him for the rest of the night.

  But the next day he is out with his chain saw. He has selected the fish for the pool. He has designed the warm stonework for the surround, sunk with rare shells.

  The olive shivers as he draws near, although the late summer air is motionless. A whisper like the faintest plea passes through her leaves. Darke feels a twinge of near compassion but denies it with a shrug.

  He prepares the saw, somewhat daunted by the tree’s massive trunk. He will sell the wood to a furniture maker. He starts to cut. Silently the olive weeps with pain. She sees the simple people who have relied on and loved her. They gather her fruit to appease the gods that crowd their imagination and they place it in bowls they have made from clay in the centre of their tables.

  Year by year they harvest her, one family after another, passing her bounty to the next generation. She was indispensable, loved and nurtured - until now.

  The saw grinds on, extracting her generous essence until her senses and the sunlight dim. She no longer reaches to the blue arc of the sky. She no longer feels the depth of her prodigious roots. When she falls she is insensible yet her leaves flutter still - fragmented silver in the sun.

  As Darke extracts the saw from the trunk, it slips and strikes through his left leg. He yells with pain, grasping the shattered limb streaming with blood but not quite severed through. He hops and staggers towards the house, striving to keep the limb together.

  He had not finished the myth of Poseidon and Athena. Poseidon was outraged and prevented rain falling on Athens. His son, Alirrhothios, was equally angry.

  In the soft Athenian night he steals with an axe towards Athena’s olive. Fearfully it murmurs and rustles moonlit leaves as Alirrhothios strikes its trunk. The axe slips, slicing cleanly through his left leg. He groans, collapses and dies before dawn.

  Darke reaches the sofa but cannot reach the telephone on his desk to bring help. His blood seeps silently. His vision dims. Athena herself might be standing in the shadows, prolonging his life so he can ponder and regret. Which he does, feeling the anguish of the olive merge with his own. He tastes the bitter fruit, feels the softness of her oil, sees her leaves agitating in a dance of death. She lies inert and Darke too is slumped, lifeless, as cautiously dawn creeps into the garden.

  BACK TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

  GARDENS OF QUARTZ AND GOLD

  Speckled, striped, beautifully blotched - stones from the beach with other rocks and semi-precious minerals, placed among plants or built into rockeries, will individualise your garden or terrace.

  My local beach yields a curious and eye-
catching cross section of stones that I have used to complement plants on my terraces. From the purity of quartz to bold pebbles, battered by the sea, these stones lie singly or in groups around pots of flowers. They are tedious to lift when cleaning the tiles, yet are visually and texturally compelling.

  For an arrangement of unsullied white, seek large quartz stones. As a complement I brought pieces of white marble back from Naxos where it is a sizable industry and glints like precious stones on the beach.

  But you can buy other examples of semi-precious stones, such as Amethyst. I bought a chunk years ago in London and now it lies among petunias on the terrace. This, with Rose Quartz, might be added for a delicate touch of colour.

  Quartz - pure gift of a graceless sea

  whose innocence died with mermaids.

  The stones; honed like virgin brides by water-borne excess

  lie now - a quiet community;

  stark or mineral-marked with hints of virgin blood.

  Crystals - rarest

  like a woman unpossessed;

  every nuance dancing in ice-dark chastity.

  That is part of Silica of the Sea, a poem I wrote about quartz.

  Rock Crystal - is the rare and pure form of the stone. The name comes from Greek; krustallos, meaning ice, as it was thought rock crystal was permanently frozen. Do not expect to find much on the beach. It will anyway have a frosted look and need scraping and perhaps breaking to identify.

  Rock crystals weighing tons have been found but material that is easy to cut is rare. Medium sized pebbles of common quartz though, whose whiteness varies but is opaque, is easy to find and always cool in the heat.

  Amethyst is a lovely addition.

  Amethyst - the lilac lady bringing luck,

  defying magic, constant as the moon.

  The poem continues.

  It is not surprising that amethyst suggests the romance of the supernatural. Its depths are profound; their shimmer like a spell being cast.

  Amethyst was thought to protect against drunkenness, homesickness and magic as well as bringing good luck and ensuring constancy. Again the name comes from Greek and probably means “not drunken”.

  Amethyst quartz is the rougher form of the stone; striped and layered with milky quartz. And you may like to buy a sample of pale Rose Quartz.

  Gentle Rose,

  speared with six-rayed stars

  from a galaxy of lingering light at dawn.

  This is a variety of opaque quartz coloured by titanium.

  Mother-of-Pearl, produced by molluscs, may join the quartz to give a delicate lustre. No one is sure where the name “Pearl” came from - it may refer to a kind of shell - perna in Latin, or to the spherical shape of a pearl - Latin: sphaerula.

  Another addition, if you can find it, could be Coquina, a porous, skeletal limestone, beautifully composed of shells - often whole. And, if like me, you have a piece of marble, it will look well with these stones.

  BACK TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

  THE QUARTZ GARDEN

  Arrange your stones round white pots and have more prepared for succeeding displays. Or you could have three prepared flower beds. Some plants can be replaced on the same site, or flowers that will bloom in summer placed between already flowering spring plants. But it may be simpler to start from scratch with fresh pots and beds, while plants from the preceding season die down naturally. They will provide a green leaf contrast for some time. And in the south many summer flowers persist well into the autumn. One learns by trial and error how many pots or open bits of ground are needed.

  Here are some suggestions for flowers to complement your stones through the seasons. There are of course prepared composts and feed that can be used in each case, although here I mention such enrichments as manure, so your garden shop can advise which brands are suitable.

  These suggestions for spring and summer flowers enjoy some sun and a little shade. In spring enjoy pink Darwin Tulips (tulipa x gesneriana), from bulbs planted in the autumn. These like rich soil with plentiful watering before flowering. Later you can remove bulblets to grow more plants.

  And you might like a deep pink Amaryllis (hippeastrum x hybridum) with its large trumpet-like flowers, planting the bulbs again in autumn and later, while the plant rests, selecting bulblets. This is another rich soil lover with a moderate need for water.

  Finally, an unusual choice would be Cuban Lily (scilla peruviana). Tiny flowers, clustering closely on each head, range from azure to deep blue and again this is grown from bulbs in the autumn before later selecting bulblets. This too likes rich soil and plenty of water before flowering, after which it rests.

  Spring is the time to sow from seed for your summer selection - where the plants are to flower or in small pots to transplant. Godetia (godetia grandiflora) is a showy annual with frilly flowers in two shades of pink. This does not transplant well, so sow the seeds in rich soil where you want them to flower. It likes liquid fertiliser while growing and plenty of water.

  Lobelia (lobelia erinus) is an annual that will trail with pretty deep pink flowers whose petals bend downwards. Again use a rich soil amended with some peat and sand. Water well - preferably light spraying.

  The annual Balsam (impatiens balsamina) has a purple variety which would echo the amethyst. It grows in any soil and likes constant watering with liquid feed during early development. You can sow seeds in the spring.

  Add the white element of your arrangement with perhaps a Martha Washington Geranium (pelargonium x domesticum), an evergreen which should be treated as an annual. Although geraniums are sun-loving, I find mine are happier with a little shade. A rich soil mixed with some sand should suffice. Water well and alternate with liquid feed. Once you have your plant you can take cuttings in early spring or summer.

  Many summer flowers in a hot climate persist throughout the warm autumn, but if you want a variation after high summer, try Hebe (hebe traversii) with its reddish-purple flowers. This can be grown from cuttings taken in the spring and likes ordinary moist soil with regular watering and a seasonal feed of organic/mineral materials.

  With all these combinations it is refreshing to have a pot of variegated or plain green foliage.

  And even winter can be lightened with flowering plants. Cyclamen (cyclamen persicum) is a deciduous perennial that likes moderate shade. You will probably prefer to buy a plant about to flower - choose white or pink. It is demanding to grow, but it can be sown in midsummer in boxes, then potted up at least twice to flower the following year. It likes a compost of heath mould, fibrous humus and sand in equal parts, dried powdered stable manure and a handful of dried blood. Then liquid fertiliser regularly until flowering finishes.

  You could also buy a Poinsettia (euphorbia pulcherrima) with its vivid red bracts. And later meet the challenge of growing another. This too is demanding to grow, but worth the effort. You will have to divide your display of stones into two groups as, unlike the cyclamen, this plant needs full sun.

  Later, as it rests, you can take hardwood cuttings and root them in sandy compost. When planted out it likes well aerated clayey-sandy soil rich in organic material with a little peat. And periodic feed with liquid mineral fertiliser. Water and spray freely as it grows but reduce after flowering, stopping altogether after 40-50 days.

  BACK TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

  THE GOLDEN GARDEN

  You might like to create a golden garden with Agate, Pyrite and Yellow Quartz. The latter, with a brown variety, can be gleaned like white quartz from the beach. You can find rough agate on the beach too but may prefer to buy a polished piece disclosing its unique qualities.

  Agate - a body mixed with the effects of moss

  to breathe illusions of the land

  on skin washed clean with salt.

  Agate comes from the Latin - Achates, a river in Sicily. Agates are “igneous” - formed by the cooling of molten rock and grow in its cavities. I talk at more length later about different kinds of rock. Agate does not
fill the hole and solidify. The first solution may have been pure silica which set into colourless quartz, the succeeding solutions may have contained chemicals that coloured the stone.

  Some agates are called “Fortification” because their banding resembles a fort. And there is beautiful Moss Agate (not however a true agate), with its impressions of landscapes - not formed by moss but possibly oxide of manganese. Then there is banded or striped agate, often in shades of brown, which is the one suitable for your garden.

  A unique industry grew around agates in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. There they found deposits of agate and jasper, good local sandstone for the production of cutting and polishing wheels and water to work them.

  Some agates are dyed, which I personally dislike, but this does emphasise the banding. Production started in Idar-Oberstein in 1548, went into decline, then revived when the first Brazilian agates arrived in 1834. Once the agate polishers had to lie flat on their stomachs on special chairs, pushing the agate hard against rotating wheels, sprinkled with water. Later, with electricity and a new way of polishing with carborumdum they could sit upright.

  The Egyptians used agate for cylinder seals, cameos, ring stones and useful vessels. It was thought to protect from storms, enable one to become a estimable orator and even quench the thirst.

  Tiger’s Eye - a quartz-lignite aggregate - is another suitable stone for your garden of brown and gold. A chunk will reveal strata like cliffs struck by sun; dark bands alternating with a golden glow. Landscape Marble - a fine-grained limestone - with fractured layers, also gives the impression of ragged rock. It was found in Tuscany in Italy. Tufa is another brown rock which when cut reveals expressive bands like an eroded coast.

  Amber is different. This is the fossilised, hardened resin of the pine tree (pinus succinifera). Pieces of this material would gleam in your garden. It was formed in the Eocene period about 50 million years ago. Chunks as big as a human head, weighing over 10 kilograms, have been found. Sometimes insects or bits of plants are trapped inside. Air bubbles and liquids that have accumulated within, may be cleared by boiling in rape seed oil.