Flat, long, crooked, french-style, thin, fleshy, pointed, aquiline, celestial, hawkish, broad, bulbous or snub…..regardless of its size and appearance, you should thank your nose for offering you the possibility to indulge in incredible scents in your surroundings, without having to spend a single cent. At least, if you live in a place like Cyprus. With easy access to orgasmically scented plants. 🙂
If I was asked to create a list with my three favorite natural scents, those would be: *
- Citrus tree blossoms, a wonderful highlight in the month of April
- The plumeria/frangipani flower (aka Indian Jasmin), an incredible white-yellow beauty for the Fall
- Sweet basil/ocimum basilicum, raising my spirits high for most of the year but primarily in the Summer
What about those citrus trees, then?
Almost every neighborhood street here on the island has at least one lemon tree growing on the sidewalk. This makes it incredibly convenient if you are looking for a lemon or two to squeeze over your Mediterranean salad or a fresh avocado. There are lemon tree owners that encourage their relatives or their neighbors to pick as many lemons from the trees as they want, so that they are not spoiled. In fact, it´s a great idea to place some of those lemons in the freezer, for use during those 3-4 months of the year when we don´t have a fresh local supply.
December to June is the period when we have the best supply of fresh clementines (my favorite source of Vitamin C, so much I can eat a 4kg bag in a week’s time), mandarins, grapefruit, pomelo, lemons and oranges. The catalogue issued by the Department of Agriculture lists 48 (!!) different registered varieties of citrus fruits growing in Cyprus. In other words, this secures a citrus blossoms extravaganza for our noses!
I owe a special mention to the endemic, Lapithos variety of the lemon tree, which, as I have recently seen, has the capacity to carry fully grown lemons, blossoms and still-maturing lemons at the same time! Not far from the village of Lapithos/Lapta is the citrus-growing area of Morphou/Guzelyurt, whose great orange tree orchards, cultivated in the pre-1974 era by both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, gave rise to a yearly two-week festival.
Unfortunately, technology does not allow me to present the magical scent of the blossoms through this blog. For that, you would have to visit Cyprus and experience it for yourselves! Until then, here are a few pics to give you an idea of what to expect 😉
*What would you put on your list!?
You've Got: Cyprus! 