I am the third child of my family but I didn’t choose to have this place. Having two older siblings I can say wasn’t actually very beneficial for me. My siblings are four and five years older than me and that means that for as much as I can remember, I spent most of my time either by myself or with my grandma. My grandma was was one of my closest companions, mentors, and friends. She was the one that made me feel loved for the first time in my life.
It fulfills me to express my creativity through gardening and, more generally, through my interactions with the natural world. My grandmother cultivated her love of nature in me, especially during our trips to the National Garden in the center of Athens every Sunday morning. Each time, she would introduce me to a new flower and I would add it to my press flower book. She also shared her interest in horticulture, and after her passing I began to develop this interest with greater meaning and purpose.
In my grandmother’s memory several years ago, I planted a garden of Orchid flowers. We loved the sugar-and-clove scent that these would give off, especially in its resonance with the moussaka we would bake together.
Gardening is also a mechanism for me to pursue a holistic and improvisational relationship with the things that I grow. By this, I mean I try to develop a method of maximizing the utility of the things I cultivate in my garden. Studying the potentially salubrious or nutritional benefits of orchid, for instance, led me to experiment with using their essential oils or aromatic petals in baking pastries.
I take care of my garden on a weekly basis and it is also a place I go whenever I don't feel well. My grandma always confronted me and was by my side. I have connected the orchids with my grandma and whenever I go to my garden room it feels as if she is still there, holding my hand and walking me through the National Garden.
Orchid Gardening Tips 🌸 :
-Keep the orchids in a room that has sunlight but not direct exposure to the sun.
-Water once a week but do not soak. Just keep the soil humid.
-As soon as all flowers fall, trim 1 inch above the last flower nobe.
Hope this inspires you to create your own garden side :)