All posts filed under: The Herbarium of Rhodes

A botano-mythical journey on Rhodes island.
Pressed flowers and other precious plants.
Prayer to nature.

„There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
There is nothing you can think that is not the moon.” (Matsuo Basó)

We need holy places

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In July we need plants, plants, plants, trees, bushes, healing shadows. Thank the Greek Gods, in Rhodes we are still nurtured by huge beautiful trees and shrubs. They do not only provide shade on the hottest summer days – this is their visible gift. They also provide a sense of calmness and greater/different perspectives for the human psyche. Trees create resonant spaces that can effect our consciousness. Why do you think it is a much different experience to sit under an old tree than under a parasol? It is neither an accident that traditional Greek circle dances (which are community rituals) are danced under enormous old trees – you can find them by each little church and community square (platia). Through a natural landscape and plants the world speaks to us. That’s what makes a place a holy space. It speaks to us. And because ancient Greeks heard and understood this language, they named the certain entities inhabited in nature: they were different kinds of Nymphs, the protectors of trees, waters, plants, mountains, caves, bees, …

The season of ‘The Lover’ – a gateway of homecoming

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The season of ‘The Lover’ – from the first days of May until Summer solstice – This time of the year is the season of joy, sensuality, Eros, connection, when our Mother Earth, Gaia so generously offers us her beauty and gifts – like no other time within the year. She is catalyzing our connection with the realms of divinities through our body sensations that we can reach by: tasting the sweetness of the first fruits, smelling the mesmerizing oils of the blooming herbs, by admiring the beauty of the untouched flowering landscape and our gardens, by wearing less clothes so we can feel more breeze and sunshine on our skin, letting the light into our soul through our naked body, and also nurturing our skin and whole being by bathing in the sea, the river, or the lake, any wild water. Earth, water, fire, air – all of these elements are accessible for us for healing and generating joy during this season. It seems that also the elements are making love with each other. …

Framing the first Anemone of Rhodes

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Anemone, the word is a Greek one meaning: ‘daughter of the wind’. Its flowers open when the wind blows and they start to bloom with the arrival of the first spring winds – on Rhodes around February. In mythology they are considered as Aphrodite’s tears when she is mourning her love, Adonis.This type we have on Rhodes is called ‘anemone coronaia’ because of the flower’s crown-like middle part which is almost black. Other names for her are ‘Lilies-of-the-field’ and ‘Poppy anemone’.   The anemone below in the frame was collected close to Stegna beach, Rhodes island. This type of anemone is native to the Mediterranean region, specifically Greece, Syria, Israel, France, Italy. Growing at woodlands and meadows and attract pollinators. The different colors they have on Rhodes are so vivid, and they transform the bold meadows into a fairy tale scene every year for a short while when blooming. As a companion I selected a ‘pistacia lentiscus’ leaf to her on the above picture (13*18 cm), which is an aromatic evergreen shrub with strong scent …

The first blooming Narcissus tazetta of the season ’22

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Plants are great teachers – you probably heard this before. And indeed they are. For many reasons. On the first place they are teachers of humbleness. They can’t communicate with words, they don’t shout at you, they don’t wave their arms, therefore you have to be humble, silent, aware, sensitive enough in order to get the wisdom and the messages of the plants. Interestingly ancient Greeks were humble enough to be aware of the silent messages of plants. The vegetation has a major symbolic role in ancient Greek myths. Plants are connected to certain archetypes or realms or attributes of human nature. Ancient Greeks’ intellect was a so called transcendent intellect, so they were able to see beyond the material nature with their intuitive vision. They had a mythical worldview which is above linguistic communication. Much more, much different than that. These myths are crystallized forms of truth. Getting the deep messages of myths and plants both require a non-linear, beyond-material, humble vision of the world (and ourselves in it). We can train ourselves for …

The sacred plant of the Rain God: the Mexican marigold

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Few weeks ago I received a strange dried flower bouquet from a local farmer here on Rhodes island. I consider him as a local shaman although he would never accept this title. He is the person who was teaching me the most about plants and the divine cosmic design. So he gave me these strange yellow flowers amongst dozens of others, and did not say anything about them. Back home I found its name at least: Mexican marigold or Tagetes Lucida. But I didn’t really look up for more info. Now I am reading a book about archaic images, symbols of water, moon, feminine, underworld. It describes a God of the Aztecs: Tlaloc. He was the rain deity, the ruler of the mysterious water-underworld: Tlalocan (Greeks called it Hades) where the great ancestors, the wisdomholders lived. The rain is the blessing of the otherworld, and ancestors. It is the nourishing source which maintains life on Earth. The Great Ancestors send love to Earth in the form of rain. Rain and water was the primordial element …

‘Alkyonides’ days

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I have already highlighted the beauty and the specialty of winter on a Greek island in this post. But I haven’t mentioned so far this lovely period called Alkyonides meres / Αλκυονίδες μέρες in Greek – in English ‘Kingfisher days’ – which is another reason to visit Greece off season.   Greek winter could be pretty chilly and windy, but nearly every year during the Alkyonides meres, which is a meteorological phenomenon of the central Greek climate, there is a lovely period of windless days with clear blue sky and mild temperatures which can reach up to 20°C, or even more! Alkyonides meres could take place from 15th December to 15th February each, but most often between January 16-31. Living on Rhodes (on the sunniest island of Greece) it is never a surprise if we have a strong sunshine, but usually during these days the temperature rises here too. It happened in the previous weeks that we had to turn off the heating, we did not have to make fire in the fireplace. More people …

Mushroom collecting in Monolithos

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Once upon  a time, last December I visited the charming, peaceful mountain village in the southwestern coast of Rhodes island called Monolithos. The name Monolithos means ‘single rock’. The village got its name from the nearby castle that was built 300 meters above sea level on a ‘single rock’ in the Byzantine era and which was fortified in 1476 by the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Pierre d’Aubusson. It has majestic view, one of the main attractions of the island. It has a small church inside the remains of the walls of the castle worshiping Agios Panteleimon. My visit to the village had a certain purpose that time, because I was invited for a mushroom collecting walk in the neighbouring pineforest by Manolis and Despoina the owners and chefs of the one and only Old Monolithos Taverna inside Monolithos village. Their kitchen is always authentic, clean, fresh, local and of course the food is made by lots of care and love with decades of experience. Because of this authentic kitchen with the fresh …