Spring in Greece

Spring is a wonderful time to visit Greece. The crowds of tourists and the heat of summer haven't yet arrived. It's cooler than usual this April, so Nancy and I bundle up on our hikes.

Best of all, everything that can be green IS green. The profusion of wildflowers is awesome, and the fragrance of orange blossoms in every neighborhood of Athens is intoxicating.

I can't stop taking pictures of blood-red poppy-like anemone, said to be the blood drops of Aphrodite's slain lover, Adonis.

The fields are white and yellow with daisies, and the meadows full of deep blue lupine.


(Nancy by daisies just below the Acropolis on a sunny day)



The most exciting find was the pink tulips saxatilis, which grows only in high mountain meadows in Crete. This delicate pink tulip is on the cover of my Flowers of Greece booklet, bought one spring 32 years ago when I first fell in love with this ancient country. We were lucky enough to spot at least a hundred of these rare wild tulips in full bloom.