Autumn Flowers

We all know how lovely Corfu is in the spring with the roadsides covered in wildflowers, but the autumn is just as beautiful, in a more subtle way.

The olive groves are covered in the tiny wild cyclamen, which started to poke their little faces out after the first rain in September. They are still going strong, this year undamaged by further storms and wind. We saw a plot of land last week at Vigla, and decided to name it "Cyclamen Land" because of the swathes of pink along its banks.

My favourite is the autumn crocus, usually a pale pink but sometimes yellow, which bravely fights its way through bracken to face the sun. There don't appear to be any leaves, just naked flowers.

This year, my pride and joy is our rose bed, which has been a real joint effort in our garden. I requested it, with the idea of all coral coloured roses, and my parents planted it. They then proceeded to carry bucket-loads of manure from the Trailriders stables in Ano Korakiana in their ancient Fiat with the roof open to let the smell out! I have seemed to take over the pruning and weeding, and am now enjoying the benefits, although the roses are mixed colours, not all coral as they promised at the garden centre.
Sarah