Pruning in Mykonos

We are spending time here on this crazy and magnificent island right now. Below is a glimpse of the nature we've encountered--both natural and manmade.

It’s springtime in Mykonos, and everything is in bloom.

Like most, we’re usually here in the summer, when the landscape looks so different—almost everything is scorched, dry, brown, or bleached from the sun. But now we know, March is the time for color. Everything is so green and alive. Wildflowers are everywhere, and the island feels like it’s slowly waking up, preparing for the season ahead.

We’ve learned a lot about the climate and planting cycles of the island, and March is the time for pruning—trimming the old branches and clearing the leaves. You don’t want to plant anything until October-December. Trying to plant anything during the summer, or even now, is pointless. Nothing will take root.

Because Mykonos is essentially a desert climate, the key is planting what is indigenous to the island—hardy plants, bushes, succulents, and cacti—plants that require very little water and have learned how to survive the long, dry summers.

So that’s what we did this week: we pruned—the nature around us and ourselves.

The Olive Grove

A windswept olive tree

Poppies everywhere!

A huge flowering rosemary bush

Duckie’s watercolor captures the landscape

A Duckie in the front garden

Duckie with the team of men cleared out all of the dead foliage and trimmed back all the bushes

Some of the branches and leaves the gardeners trimmed to get it summer-ready

This succulent is one of my favorites—it’s called Aeonium

Down in Chora by the seaport, it’s so quiet now. In the summer, it’s teeming with people.

Fishing boats docked to sell their morning catch to the locals.

A fisherman and his barracuda

The barracuda, cleaned and ready for the oven

Duckie and Theo down by the seaport, waiting for our saganaki—grilled cheese that is so yummy—at Bacouya.

A fig tree bearing fruit

An old shepherd’s home that will soon become a storage shed for gardening tools and supplies

Duckie on garden duty—watering the bougainvillea bush

Said bush

And now, the other kind of gardening—self-gardening. Ducking getting his haircut by Constantin at Koncept Salon

All done up in braids

And now, a pedicure by Betty at Beautyworld. Beautyworld is one of the best places on the island to get everything trimmed and polished.

Flowers from the garden

That’s all for now…..

xoxoxo,
The Duckies