Even in a garden, such as mine, where almost every inch is planted up, wildflowers somehow sneak in and make their presence felt. The weedy ones such as Convolvulus althaeoides with its delicate pink summer flowers but 'bindweed-like' habit are disposed of. Others are enjoyed and allowed to self seed year after year. During April, Matricaria chamomila comes into flower. The wild chamomile has feathery leaves. Its flowers first look like small daisies but later on the petals droop backwards as the yellow discs expand and become more conical. It grows to the height of 30 cm (12 inches). I collect and dry the flowers and use them to make a delicious soothing tea. The strained tea can also be used both as a rinse to soothe irritated eyes, and to lighten the hair. Four species of the genus Gladiolus are found in Greece. Every April and May Gladiolus Illyricus comes into bloom without any forethought on my part. The leaves are narrow and sword-shaped with brilliant violet-purple flowers occurring on one-sided spikes along the stems. Although the flowers are smaller than those of the cultivated species, they still make lovely long lasting cut flowers. They grow from corms in clumps which increase year after year. Another wild flower that makes its appearance at this time is the European corn poppy, Papaver Rhoeas which is one of eleven species of the Papaveraceae family growing in Greece. It is an annual plant growing from 20-60 cm (8-24 inches). The blossoms are composed of four large, brilliant scarlet petals which have a black spot at their base. Unfortunately the flowers are ephemeral with the petals falling off as soon as they are touched. Corn poppy petals were once gathered for use in cough syrups as well as being an important food dye. Nigella damascena, also known as Love-in-a-Mist is an annual reaching a height of 30-60 cm (8-16 inches) with fennel-like leaves and producing light-blue flowers in May and June. After flowering I dry the leaves and pods which resemble inflated, reddish, striped balloons. The genus name Nigella comes from from the Latin niger referring to the black seeds. These seeds are used in spice blends and can be sprinkled on breads and rolls like poppy seeds. There are six species of Cyclamen found in Greece. Some of them flourish in the autumn and others during the spring. The long stalked leaves growing from a large corm of Cyclamen Graecum, which is found in my garden, first appear in September. The pink flowers, also arising from the corm, appear later on. If you would like more information on the wild flowers of Greece, two beginners books are: Philippou. M. (1980) Common Wild Flowers of Greece. Athens. Sfikas. G. (1982) Wild flowers of Greece. Athens. Efstathiadis Group.
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