Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: Andrew on January 09, 2007, 09:32:51 AM
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Thank you.
That may seem a funny way to start a thread but its for all the comments on the old forum.
I'll repost the pictures from the old forum (I did not get very far before the problem) so they are all in one place and then continue with the new.
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You cannot see Greece without the history, so the first stop was Delpi and this was the transport from the hotel to the site.
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After a few steps, this was the view,
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and not too far away was my first bulb,
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Sternbergia lutea.
At the top of the site is the stadium.
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About two-thirds of the way down is the VIP seat, so I had a wander and when I got there noticed this,
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all over the ground,
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Colchicum cupanii.
The view from the top.
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A little drive and we were in the Mount Parnassos area,
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what the above photo does not show is the amount of houses that have been built on the plain.
Then my first crocus, :) :)
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Crocus cancellatus mazziaricus looking a bit white.
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Then a bluer looking one, same crocus with and without sun.
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A few more C. cancellatus,
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a dark one and a marked one.
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You cannot be on Parnassos without seeing this (when in flower!).
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Crocus hadriaticus parnassicus.
I did have a shot of the houses,
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all built in the National Park. :(
On the way up to the summit are the forests of Greek Fir,
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with Cyclamen hederifolium,
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and a couple of Colchicums,
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with no leaves, which made diagnosis very hard, possibly lingulatum and/or parlotoris.
In the sun,
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a lizard and at the summit.
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An insect,
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a beetle,
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and back in the hotel a moth.
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Today we were looking for a particular Crocus, but found this,
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Tony, Thomas ?
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Just after taking the pictures, there was a massive explosion,
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the locals were quarrying !!
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But we did find C. niveus.
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A view of the area
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and past a reservor to the next site.
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Andrew,
Loved the photographs; just fabulous. Many thanks.
Paddy
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Still no Crocus but we did find this,
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Spiranthes spiralis or Autumn lady's tresses.
Finally at the last site of the day we found it.
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Crocus robertianus.
Over the new bridge to the Peloponnese.
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Today was Mt Chelmos.
On the plain we found,
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Viola graeca
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Hyraycem sp.
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Ameria canescens
After an hour's climbing, this was the view for dinner.
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In the misty distance is Mt Parnassos,
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and looking down onto the plain.
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Thank you Paddy, but there's more, lots more. :D
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Andrew, so glad you are continuing with this one. Lovely pictures
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Just as we were going to leave, this was found,
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Sternbegia colchiciflora.
Another morning and a different Sternbergia,
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you really had to be there to appreciate it,
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Sternbergia sicula.
Also here were some,
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Crocus biflorus melantherus forms.
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Larkspur sp.
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Petrorhagia sp.
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Another insect with nice wings
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and a butterfly, Anthony !
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Another nicely coloured beetle.
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? !
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A skink ?
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This view might not be around much longer as out of shot where some very large concrete foundations which had appeared since the leaders were last here :(
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Happy at the moment was this German helmet tortoise.
On the way to the hotel was C. hadriaticus
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but take a second look at it
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and a nice clump of them.
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An atomspheric shot from the hotel that night
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and the view in the morning, the Byzantine city of Mistras, which was the destination for today.
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Crocus group.
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Crocus boryi.
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Campanula versicolor
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Silene sp.
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The view down to the 'new' town.
Onto the next site.
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Another C. boryi with extra bits.
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Cyclamen graecum leaves
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and flowers.
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More Colchicum's
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without leaves, C. lingulatum/boisseri/bivonae.
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This is another view
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where you had to be there.
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Galanthus reginae-olgae.
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Another day and
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Narcissus tazetta
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Ecballium elaterium or Squirting Cucumber
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Cichorium intybus or Chicory
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Some C. boryi and down the road,
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C. goulimyi.
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Spurge hawk moth caterpillar having a feed.
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A Mantis trying to hide.
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Urginia maritima or Sea Squill
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Picture of a flower later.
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Along the roadside,
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C. niveus pink tinge,
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blue tinge,
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and a nice group.
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Verbascum sp.
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Dinner time near a beach and this was growing,
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Lantana camara.
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Into the hills
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and Clematis cirrhosa.
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Narcissus serotinus
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looking the worst for wear, close up.
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Cyclamen hederifolium var. confusum
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Colchicum parlatoris, the needle leaves just visible.
Onto the southern tip of the Mani,
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and Urginia maritima (Sea Squill) in flower,
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making a home for this,
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and someone else's home a long while ago.
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Also here, a cricket.
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Back at the hotel, someone leaving in their dinghy !
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The view of the town from the island,
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where you can find Arisarum vulgare or Friar's cowl.
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On the roadside is Opuntia ficus-indica the Prickly Pear.
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Next stop
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a patch of
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Allium callimischon ssp. callimischon
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and Narcissus tazetta.
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Also Bellis sylvestris
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and Crocus laevigatus.
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Excellent photos. More please!
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Alright Heather, just for you :)
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C. laevigatus
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Looks like something was hungry !
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C. biflorus melanthus
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C. cancellatus mazziaricus
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C. hadriaticus
All the above crocus were in one area, but someone was trying to cultivate it and had brought their plough in and used it in several places :(
Just up the road,
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some C. laevigatus forms.
On the way to the hotel,
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just a corner of a patch of C. goulimyi.
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The hotel view that morning
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and when the sun was up the island of Monemvassia.
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On top of the island is a ruin (just visible in the picture above)
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and this is the view of Gefira from there
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and the settlement on the other side of the island.
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Something hanging onto the rock face.
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The main street
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and the entrance.
In the afternoon we went for a walk
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and found a field
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of C. goulimyi var. leucanthus
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Great pictures, keep them coming!
Sue
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Cyclamen with large flowers (look at the crocus)
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and they grew anywhere
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and everywhere.
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Arbutus unedo, The Strawberry Tree.
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A mantis crossing the road.
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Anemone sp.
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Colchicum bivonae.
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This was a cat that liked jumped in and out of the plastic bag.
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Fungus.
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C. laevigatus with faint lining.
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Lichen.
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Some more C. laevigatus forms.
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Juniper phoenicea.
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Excellent plants pictures of a very beautiful country which I several times visited.
Thanks
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Andrew - thank you for the wonderful pictures.
I, being a new member of this forum, am not sure of the history behind them. Could you please give me some more details. Over what period of time were these taken. Did you manage to get a photograph of something beautiful every 5 minutes or are these the result of many weeks of searching?
with many thanks for sharing them with me us. :)
my best wishes
John
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Andrew,
This is surely the most fabulous postings of flower photographs I have seen. Many thanks; really enjoyed looking at them all; they gave a great idea of what one might experience on a visit to Greece.
As with John, above, can you give us some more detail of your trip - was it an organised one? Was it a guided tour? Can you give some details of the route you took? What time of year? etc etc etc. I'm afraid your photographs have simply caught my attention in a big way; might cancel that holiday to Italy and make a move further east in the Med.
Great show, Paddy
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Andrew - you lucky b****r!! I've yearned to go on an AGS Peloponnese trip for years but family commitments have so far stopped me going. I will go one day .... and your post only confirms what a great place it is, especially for autumn bulbs. I'll add my thanks to you for sharing the experience.
You have a pale crocus early on which you have annotated as sp "Tony/Thomas?" from the side view I'd say it is C cancelleatus perhaps ssp mazziaricus but I have not checked the distribution for that ssp to see if it fits. The dark lines outside suggest cancellatus rather than the other white taxa. Also your first (I think - I have ordered the forum to put most recent posts at the top so I get it all upside-down!) C niveus looks a bit cancellatus-like. The big clump of niveus is definitely the real thing and very tasty too!
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Yes a fantastic series of posts Andrew, an online talk in fact, I am enjoying it immensely.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<THANK YOU>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Andrew, for a "trainee croconut" you are doing most excellent work on your field trips!
I imagine your course marks will be sky high!!
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Brilliant. I've just projected them using my classroom computer and the digitital projector I have nailed to the classroom ceiling.
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I really want to go there now as well as everywhere else on my list
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Thank you for all the comments.
John, Paddy this was the Alpine Garden Society (AGS) Tour of Parnassos and the Peloponnese, 24th October to 5th November 2006. There were 12 other members on the trip and our two leaders (picture below - except Tony!).
As I was not driving I just sat back and enjoyed the views but we stayed at the following Delfi, Kalavrita, Mistras, Githio, Monemvassia, Nafplio and had day trips out to the various sites.
Tony, thank you for the identifications. If the AGS run it again in 2008 I will be on it. I'm thinking about Turkey this year or maybe I will go back on my own and would be happy to show you the sites.
Any way just a couple more sets of photos.
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A patch of C. hadriaticus,
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but this was the only lilac one
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and this monster !
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Our leaders looking at the above. David and Margaret Thorne
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A large centipede.
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The Amphitheatre at Epidaurus
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and its view
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and about the only plant life around !
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Our last day :(
We stopped at the Mycenae ruins
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with the 'Lion Gate'
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Over the road is a tomb
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with one big door,
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before crossing over the Corinth canal on the way to the airport.
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That's all folks !
Thank you for your patience. I've uploaded 8Meg Bytes of photo's not too bad when I had 1Gig to choose from.
I really enjoyed the trip, it was my first plant holiday and from my comments above, I'll be back ;D.
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Andrew, thank you, I have thoroughly enjoyed them.
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Andrew
Thank you very much for impressive photos! Both plants and architecture are beautiful. "Double" crocus is wonderful
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Andrew,
You can apply immediately, with guaranteed success, for a position with the Greek Tourist Authority. Also, the AGS might have a vacancy for tour promoter.
You certainly have given me a treat. I really enjoyed the photographs of the flowers and the various views of the areas you visited also.
Great job, great treat, really enjoyed it all, many thanks. Paddy
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At last I have finally got round to posting on the “New Forum”
Super pictures, brings it all back to me. We went to the Peloponnese in 2002. It was just as wonderful then. The large cyclamen I think is C. hederifolium confusum. We measured one flower at 5 cm from top to bottom with the larger corms over 30 cm across and 10 cm thick. We also saw plenty of C. graecum in various shades from almost white right through to nearly crimson accompanied by a huge variety of superb leaf patterns
I would recommend the trip to anyone interested in autumn flowering bulbs
Brian Wilson Aberdeen
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Andrew thank you for sharing its certainly whetted my appetite for an autumn visit
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Thank you all.
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Andrew, I love your photos - wish I could be with you next time.
Many thanks