Spring garden (Ανοιξιάτικος κήπος)

The days before Easter are often spent cleaning, not just inside the home, but also outdoors.

Labourer employed by the local council to whitewash the walls by the roadside in the village.

Time for a big clean-up in our garden, too; it's now ready to be planted with summer crops:

All that's left are the artichokes (top) and the celery (bottom)

The stamnagathi horta we planted three months ago have taken to our garden conditions quite well:

(Then and now shots of the stamnagathi we picked from Omalos)

The artichokes and strawberries have just started making an appearance:

The artichokes will be a perfect match for the broad beans:

The herb garden is doing well, thanks to my mother-in-law's care...

Fennel, mint, spring onion

... who may be 85 years old, takes no medication apart from a DEPON every now and then, and is never found far away from her walking frame (on her left), but still manages to cook like this:

Yiayia and her goat roast on Easter day, surrounded by my contributions of garden lettuce salad, Easter kalitsounia, traditional Cretan Easter meat pie and her family

Close-ups of Cretan Easter meat pie and goat roast

As we say in Greek, και του χρόνου - kai tou hronou - which basically translates to:

"I wish you the same happiness that found you this year"

If the relationship between diet and longevity interests you, The Fanatic Cook has some interesting facts about Greek people: Greeks in Greece, and Greeks in Australia. Beans and legumes are found to be most important food items in predicting life expectancy.
Thanks to Meg for providing me with the link.

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