Sep 07 Summer Hangover

...by Ceylan

Do you feel like as if you have a hang over from all that's being going on and all those friends & family visiting throughout the summer? Especially August! August is the zenith of summer "fever" as always forever, for me at least.

Of course it is never like the "Summer Holiday" days of the Cliff Richard song & movie where & when we've had the love of and the best holiday in our lives (so we thought). We are not teenagers any more fortunately -I would not like to go back, I am most happy if not content with where I am at right now. On the contrary now summer means extra sheets or towels to be washed and hang to dry and than to be folded and put in the cupboard again (if there is time in between two sets of visitors), or constantly cooking, cleaning, setting table and last but not least listening to extra emotional luggage of each visitor which takes most of my most precious time from the garden, my pets (including chickens) and myself. My self always comes at the end of the list though. When the summer fever is present I hardly have time to read a page from a long sought after book (such as, Orchids for Aphrodite by Ursula Haselden: a must read!) or to look in the mirror to plug yet another white or stray hair from an eyebrow.

To be present all energetically at any moment or be responding to each guests any whim replaces the top of the routine list of our lives and when one can not be ever present or be a witch to create miracles according to their whims they snap back instantly "but you live here all year round; I am on holiday!". I can kill an entire continents population for this statement: precisely since we live here all year round WE ARE NOT ON HOLIDAY until after you all return back to your beloved urban lives and habits, I wish to say (or rather shout) … but never could: Turkish hospitality would never allow one to complain about & after guests. Yes I can hear you! And yes I am now while writing it, it is never too late, as the saying goes: better late than never, I am learning.

One of my never realised dream projects is to write a "how to use Ceylan instructions manual when visiting": so that friends and family would know when I say "oh but I do not eat breakfast" so that they'll help themselves instead of waiting to be served or, "oh how much I would love to but I have guests at the moment.." they'll cut short a long telephone conversation to be sure if not RSVP a dinner invitation or a day on the boat. Or one who reads this manual would know how ever rude I may be or it may seem I never accept dinner, lunch or cocktails invitations in return to my hospitality. In short I do not get out of where I am unless it is a compulsory shopping time or a visit to the doctor or a vet. Since a month there is a "diaSA" in Mumcular and compulsory shopping visits' frequency is extending from every 5 weeks to approximately 8 which saves many red to green light waiting in the heat of the summer in the car in Bodrum. Wish the shops and the banks in Bodrum would open at 6 am in the morning when just about everyone is just gone to sleep.

As always I diverted from my main subject: gardening in the region in the heat of the summer. June has gone by, by a blink of an eye with one day spring one day the peak of the summer weather heat wave and/or storm as any tree could stand up thus kept checking the pegs; fighting insects of all kinds chewing on every new seedling be it a vegetable or a flower.

July came with its usual scorching hot winds and fires. Though we have had relatively few this season in the region due to the fact that there are not many forests or bushes left which have not burned already. A blessing in disguise in a disaster. But… thanks to the heavy rains last winter all those microscopic in size conifer trees planted after the major fire of 2006 are tripled in their sizes happily: at least one good news!

Due to the scorching winds most of the exotic's leaves shriveled in July; tomatoes barely survived, aubergines still struggling, okra are yet another case: they have just started to flower finally along with aubergines. It is September while I m writing this and I am yet to pick enough aubergines to make penne for 4 persons! Although this year I have been most cautious about following rising moon-waning moon cycle (according to one school of thought) when planting seeds and/or seedlings it has been the worst year in my vegetable garden. I wonder if it is due to the fact that I have been using my own seeds?

I started to collect my own seeds since a long time; some, like cantaloupe, for almost over 20 years (very successful) and aubergines as recent as for 2 years. Seeds and their cycle is interesting to follow: dill, ordinary green salad, beetroot, celeriac and even common tomatoes and purslane seed by themselves as they please as far and vast as they can fly and spread. But some, like parsley, rocket which are most used are capricious, I found. I must admit though they need plenty and often as possible water and I water them every other day, only. Another un-success story is coriander! Has anyone have a success story about growing coriander in the region in the summer? On the contrary in my, in a most polluted city centre, Istanbul apartment balcony coriander has become invasive!

One success story is with basil: sweet basil of all types, purple leaved, curly giant leaved, simple leaved and you named it type seeded them selves happily last year and popped-up all around the vegetable garden this season; than I put them in order by re-planting them in a box. Yes, I do vegetables in high boxes (I know there is an expression for this which I can not remember while writing) due to the fact that I have like most people of our young age (!) have a knee and a back problem, only naturally.

Another success story is with cantaloupe, cucumbers and "acur" (is there an English name for this local –meaning Aegean, type of a cucumber which looks like a long and light colour courgette?). At the beginning of the season courgettes both light and dark coloured ones were in abundance: I had, from 4 plants, about 5-6 kilogram's per every other day thus send friends and family with their hands full of plastic bags full of them. But now almost a disaster! They became baby courgettes as if they are specially grown for any fusion or nouvelle (I know it is passé but nevertheless) cuisine cooking. Could anyone tell me if courgette needs a lot of water or little or moderate?

This season I have experimented with new types of tomatoes. Their seeds given by a friend of a friend from Germany: one type was named "early love", the other "Mexico". The early love turned out to be (apart from being quiet late) really small cherry tomatoes and fruits in abundance. The so called Mexico with an unusual shape of leaves in the olive tree leave shades (see photo below), is medium in size, has a strong, hard skin but it is the one which still flowers and fruit along with the "early love" cherry though the local variety which showed up from within the manure 4 years ago is over since a month.

I have had plenty of figs this year: though my (5) trees are still not even 125 cm high, if barely. Of course it was a challenge to eat them; either the birds or mice and sometimes even the dogs for the fun of it always won the race of picking them before I can. There are still some more on the trees waiting to mature but the birds and/or mice are eager to get them even before they mature:-).

Another fruit that was in abundance this year was peach. Not only that, it has been declared by all that was privileged to taste it as the best peach they have tasted ever! Funnily this less than a metre high champion grew by itself in the most awkward place one can imagine: on top of a wall, jammed among rocks and lavenders. (see photo below) Even if I tried ever hard to grow any tree there never mind a peach in that place it would no way survive. Nature is miraculous!

Peach tree in hiding among rocks and lavender

In general it has been a late summer this season: most trees developed as late as august and jacaranda's have just started to flourish and spread their branches with phosphorescent green fresh leaves. Most unusual was agapanthus! It started to flower end of June and lasted till the end of August!? A friend visiting from Istanbul at the beginning of august has exclaimed by saying that "even in my Princes' island garden they are over by now!?" Should I take this as a compliment?!

A surprisingly new addition to the garden this year is a "Guara" (see photo below) with its tiny long leaves and delicate pink flowers and an "ipomea cardinal" given as a present by Valerie & Bill who by responding to my call (as a matter of fact they've been the first and only) for "open to visits" garden in my previous letter/article published in "Bodrum Bulletin" in June, came with both of these specimens she grew herself which are both not only native to but also from (if I did not misunderstood her) New Mexico, she told me.

 

In short, after living in Mazı for 4 consequent seasons now I declare that august is my favourite month of the summer-besides the fact of "summer fever" visitors & hang over, due to the fact that the scorching hot north winds leaves its place to west and north-westerly winds thus the humidity rising up to 80's (would never dream that getting up to a wet garden and cushions in the morning would be such a pleasure) at times and both the garden and myself could relax with the soothing westerly winds without much worrying about the fires, scorching hot winds and watering.

Now that we are through yet another summer and a full moon I am anxiously waiting to start a new batch of rocket, parsley along with all kinds of salad greens, "the oriental mix" (introduced by my sister who lives in Holland) being my latest favourite especially with its spicy specimens like Chinese mustard green among it and, cauliflower, broccoli soon to be followed by (next month) with fava beans, onion, garlic, cabbage, beetroot, celeriac and potatoes including tiny red andes potatoes from Argentina…

Till the next harvest enjoy the Indian summer to arrive and make sure to get over your summer hang over by making the most of the empty beaches after "bayram": happy "Şeker" bayramı!