Pleasure for an hour,
a bottle of Wine: Pleasure for one year, a Marriage: but Pleasure for a
lifetime, a Garden. (Chinese Proverb)
Our charming little summer-house in Karlovasi, on the Greek
Aegean island of Samos, sits on a corner and on one side there is a court-yard
giving access to five neighbouring houses, one of which we acquired separately.
The court-yard used to be a scruffy, dusty, concrete space of no merit and
locals aggressively parked their cars there, although it was clearly private
land. Worse, an absentee inheritor of one of the houses claimed, probably
advised by his uncle, an elderly Samiot lawyer of controversial reputation, in
a bizarre acceptance of his legacy, that the greater part of the Court-yard was
his, denying us any rights – his claim was dismissed by the court as being
wholly without merit, but it still cost us and another freeholder two years
anxiety and about £2,000 in legal fees to contest the claim (there is sadly no
land registry proving title in Greece). In time, we erected a barrier to keep
out all cars and it is now a peaceful place giving undisturbed access to all
the tenants and owners.
The happy part of this story is that the Court-yard has been
changed and beautified beyond recognition. The concrete wasteland now has a
painted floor and is surrounded by a splendid array of potted Mediterranean
flowers and herbs. The neighbourhood has been much enhanced and the locals,
including taxi drivers, refer to it as the Zographisti
Avli (The Painted Court-yard).
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| Theofilaktos, Flower-lover and Artist |
The hero of this story is a tenant of a flat in the
Court-yard, Theofilaktos Kostopoulos, a 31-year-old former theatrical electrician, jobbing builder and man of all
talents who lives there with his lovely girl-friend Christina. Both are from
the town of Veria in Macedonia and have lived in Samos for about 3 years.
Theofilaktos was upset by being constantly harassed by locals parking literally
on his door-step. He joined my wife Betty and me in mounting resistance and
with Theo’s stalwart landlord George, we appointed a highly competent Athens
lady solicitor to plead our case; we won comprehensively. The Court-yard is now
officially reserved for pedestrian owners and tenants.
Theofilaktos loves flowers and plants, an interest probably
picked up from his maternal grandmother, a Pontic Greek, a refugee from the
ancient Greek community of Pontus in Northern Turkey on the Black Sea, now
sadly eradicated. His home province of Macedonia is also fertile and splendid
flora are abundant. With finances difficult, he has not had much chance to
indulge his enthusiasm apart from planting and tending the window boxes in our
house. Yet he is expert at propagating plants from cuttings and Betty and I
helped him out to buy new earth and a variety of plants. With enormous energy
Theofilaktos acquired mainly feta cheese or olive tins from local shops, carefully
painted them in different colours and planted them out. When I last counted
there were 35 such containers, but he adds to them constantly and when we
return next year there will be quite a few more. He has also created generous plant-troughs
from discarded water-pipes, supported on his self-made wooden trestles.
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| A Corner of the Painted Court-yard |
All Greeks love herbs and Theofilaktos can point to Parsley,
Rosemary, Oregano, Lemon Verbena (Louisa),
Sage, Thyme, Marjoram, Basil, several kinds of Mint, Cuphea and Stevia: the
aromas from many of them are heady and voluptuous – he makes some memorable
teas and all our food is much enriched. To add colour, there are other plants
spread about – Cacti like Yucca. Alloi and Immortal, purple Scottish Heather, red
Azaleas and mauve Lavender, but more spectacularly, Cyclamen in blue and pink, orangey
Crossandra, Hibiscus with huge red flowers, yellow Chrysanthemums, Jasmine and
Honeysuckle to creep and clamber delicately, not to mention flourishing blue
Forget-me-nots outside and temperamental Gardenias inside our house, all tended
lovingly by Theofilaktos and Betty. Our collection of potted flora is perhaps
not strictly a traditional garden, but it is a cherished garden to us, thriving
in the balmy Greek climate, and that is what matters.
The Painted Court-yard is another triumph, with Theofilaktos
doing the hard graft, with his eye for colour and rock steady painter’s hand,
while Betty, one-time prize graduate of an art college, helped in the design
and proportions.
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| The painted Court-yard looking to the road |
It is an example of folk-art, rather than anything loftier,
much appreciated by local friends and neighbours and by their children. A
striking Evil Eye wards off hostile spirits, arched by a Rainbow and joined by
a peaceful Laurel Wreath. The Sun peeks out behind some Clouds already enlivened
by a colourfully be-ribboned Kite. A magnificent Sun Flower dominates the
centre. All the old concrete is painted over and varnished: it is only half
finished. Next year Seas, Mountains and Butterflies will make an appearance. Meanwhile
what a pleasure it is to welcome friends and neighbours to our regular BBQs of
chicken and pork in the Painted Court-yard, washed down by liberal quantities
of wine and beer in the animated Greek ambiance. A candle-lit Halloween supper
last week, with pumpkin lanterns was particularly attractive.
It is good to report that something life-enhancing can be
created out of nothing.
SMD
5.11.13
Copyright ©Sidney Donald 2013
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