Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps

  • 82 Replies
  • 41970 Views

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #45 on: January 24, 2017, 01:18:52 PM »
Hypericum empetrifolium Υπερικό

This plant is mentioned many times in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN.
 Today I chose to read issue number 24, April 2001, page 30.
A CISTUS HYBRID IN CRETE by Olivier Filippi.

As a bonus I refer you to Making  a Garden on a  Greek Hillside by Mary Jaqueline Tyrwhitt.
On pages   148-149 there is an entry about this plant and an added foot note.
 
Quote
[This shrub never goes into dormancy and yet is entirely drought resistant.
It should be given a place in every Mediterranean garden. S.R.]
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #46 on: January 25, 2017, 09:28:48 AM »
Origanum vulgare -Ρίγανι-Marjoram
Another stamp from the Greek postage stamp series depicting Greek herbs.

Today I chose issue number 75, January 2014,  of THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN for you to read about Origanum vulgare and many more herbs in the article on page 21  HERBS IN FOOD by Lynne Chatterton.

I have included a photo of what I had identified as Origanum vulgare but in the end it looks nothing like it. If anyone could inform me of the correct  identity of the plant in my photo, I would be grateful
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #47 on: January 26, 2017, 06:28:43 AM »
Sideritis clandestina , Τσάι του βουνού, Greek Mountain tea

I couldn't find any reference to this plant in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN but all is not lost.
Sideritis clandestinais mentioned in an account of one of the interesting walks organised by the Greek branch of the society. http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/branches-gr.html
Scroll all the way down to May 2013 and read Exploring the Parnon Mountains.

The photo I have included is of  Greek Mountain Tea collected on Dourdouvana by a friend of mine.
Apparently some Sideritis  have more flavour than others.
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #48 on: January 27, 2017, 08:43:29 AM »
Salvia fruticosa- Φασκόμηλο - Three- leaved Sage
The last stamp in the ΑΝΘΙΣΜΕΝΑ  ΒΟΤΑΝΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΗΣ, BLOOMING HERBS OF THE GREEK LAND series.

This plant is mentioned many times in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN.
Yesterday I read, in issue number 48, April 2007,
 HOW PLANTS COPE WITH DRYNESS: MECHANISMS OF ADAPTATION  by Olivier Filippi
where Salvia fruticosa is mentioned on page 20
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #49 on: May 01, 2017, 05:35:22 PM »
Although I can't find any reference to May Wreaths in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN I couldn't let the day  pass without posting a photo of this  stamp issued by the Greek Post office in 2014
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #50 on: July 25, 2017, 05:47:06 AM »
Caretta caretta, Loggerhead turtle 

A stamp issued by Greece in 1990

These turtles bury their eggs in several beaches around Greece
You can read about the area of Zakynthos where the turtles are protected here
http://www.archelon.gr/eng/habitat_zak.php

When we were on  holiday on this beach in 1975 the road  was along the beach and no mention of turtles

Up till now I have been finding the article in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN to suit the stamp in my collection.
In this case I have been trying desperately to find a suitable stamp to suit the article.
TMG issue number 40
IN SEARCH OF PHLOMIS SPECIES IN SOUTHERN TURKEY
by Olivier Filippi.

I don’t think there ever has been a postage stamp featuring Phlomis and most of the other plants mentioned either do not exist in my stamp collection or have never been on postage stamps.
However, I enjoyed reading this article so much, as an armchair traveller; I decided to illustrate it here with the above postage stamp.
I quote from the article
The beach at Patara
Quote
“a protected site where the Loggerhead turtle,
Caretta caretta, comes to lay its eggs each  summer”
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #51 on: August 11, 2017, 05:40:09 AM »
 Narcissus poeticus,  ΝΑΡΚΙΣΣΟΣ

In 1958 Greece issued a postage stamp series named
NATURE PROTECTION, FLORA ,
 some of the stamps  depicted  plants associated with Greek Mythology
You can read the story of Narcissus here
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Narcissus-Greek-mythology

Narcissi are mentioned many times in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
Today I have chosen issue number 58 for you to read the article by Cali Doxiadis GRASSES, NATIVE AND OTHERWISE
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #52 on: September 10, 2017, 05:25:07 AM »
Laurus nobilis, Bay tree

A stamp issued by Greece in 1958 in a series named
 NATURE PROTECTION, FLORA

There is a small Bay tree, in the yard of the block of flats  where we live. Last week  I pruned it a bit / hacked off a few low branches,  the air was soon strongly scented.

 The photo is of the flowers taken one March

Down the side of the stamp it writes in Greek ΔΑΦΝΗ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ  which translates as Daphne and Apollo

I found an article devoted to this plant in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
issue number 30, October 2002.
LANDSCAPING WITH BAY LAUREL.
[LAURUS NOBILIS L,]
By Ze’ev Vered
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #53 on: September 11, 2017, 04:52:02 AM »
 I found another article in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN devoted entirely to Bay trees
THE BAY TREE
[LAURUS NOBILIS]
by Sabina Rossini Oliva
in TMG number 21, July 2000
Enjoy
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #54 on: September 12, 2017, 05:59:26 AM »
Still on the theme of the Bay tree.
Reading THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN last night I came across an article by D.J. Bracey, ALEPPO SOAP.

To read about Bay tree oil and its use in soap go to TMG issue number 60, April 2010

My husband tells me he saw the same kind of soap production in Chania, Crete, 40  years ago.
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #55 on: October 18, 2017, 05:19:29 AM »
Cyclamen graecum

This stamp was issued in 1958 by Greece in a series named
 NATURE PROTECTION, FLORA

The photos were taken one October on the pebble beach at Ai Theodori, Korinthia, Greece, and the wooded area behind the beach.

To read SOME MUST-HAVE BULBOUS PLANTS
 FOR MEDITERRANEAN GARDENS by Oron Peri
Go to THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 82, October 2015
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

*

Alisdair

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #56 on: October 18, 2017, 08:01:20 AM »
Lovely, Hilary!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #57 on: November 12, 2017, 06:58:08 AM »
This stamp was issued by Greece in 2014 and is one of a series depicting the Months in Folk Lore

Here we have November and the Goddess Demeter holding some wheat and a collection of pulses grown in Greece and part of our winter diet. I suppose the yellow column in the middle must be olive oil.

I had great fun taking the photo.

The wheat  corn dolly was  bought at the canal a few years ago.
The olive oil is from Sparta.
The split Fava Beans are from Larissa and are Greek.
Printed on the packet Φάβα κομμένη, Λάρισας.
The lentils are from Pharsala, also Greek.
Printed on the packet ΦΑΚΕΣ ΨΙΛΕΣ Φαρσάλων.
The packet of the black eyed beans writes packed in Greece. I am ashamed to say that this means they are not produced in Greece.
Printed on the packet ΦΑΣΟΛΙΑ μαυρομάτικα.
The packet of  Medium Beans does not give us any information as to where the beans were produced or packed. This means that they were neither produced nor packed in Greece.
Printed on the packet Φασόλια Μέτρια.
More care will be taken the next time I buy beans.

I was thrilled to be able to find a reference to Fava Beans in an article about Santorini in TMG. Anyone who goes to Santorini buys a packet of split Fava Beans to take home.
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 72, April 2013
THE GRAPEVINES OF SANTORINI by David J. Bracey
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

*

John J

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #58 on: November 12, 2017, 08:35:07 AM »
Excellent, Hilary, that's brilliant.
Just out of interest one source I've seen claims the Chrysanthemum as the flower of November. You recently featured this plant in your thread: Plants of the World on postage stamps.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: Wild flowers of Greece on postage stamps
« Reply #59 on: January 01, 2018, 11:01:09 AM »
Punica granatum, Pomegranate

In 2014 Greece issued a series of stamps for the months of the year.January features a snowy scene and a Pomegranate.

There are many stories in Greek mythology about the pomegranate. Below I am quoting from one of my friends’ Blog about a New Year’s custom involving a pomegranate.

http://greekerthanthegreeks.blogspot.gr/2015/12/top-ten-greek-new-years-customs-and.html

I have never seen a pomegranate smashed  or smashed one myself  at a door but at the moment Greece is awash with pomegranate shaped ornaments for the Holiday season

A POMEGRANATE, an ancient symbol of prosperity and good luck, is hung above the door throughout Christmas and at midnight, on New Year’s Eve, the lights are turned out, the pomegranate is then hurled to the floor, or at the door, where it smashes, spilling out its seeds, the more seeds the better!

This helps ensure luck, health, happiness and prosperity for the coming year.


A pomegranate tree is a must for most gardens around here and of course they are mentioned in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
I suggest you read
A MAGICAL GARDEN IN MITHIMNA, LESBOS BY Carol P. Christ in issue number 49, July 2007

The photo is from “ The Feast of the  Pomegranate” which is held at Ermioni, Argolis, Peleponnese on the last weekend of October

Another photo of some of the pomegranate decorations currently around the house
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care