My friend Savvas once told us that growing things in Cyprus required two things - sunshine and water. Obvious really but this year has given me a new understanding.
Outside of our gate was an old vine, which grew along the ground in a desultory fashion. The land on which our house was built used to be a vineyard and so it was to be expected that there might be a few strands from the past. A couple of years ago - more as a whim than anything else - we tied the vine to the car port. And it grew and grew. How exciting.
Vass, another Cypriot friend, showed me how to prune the vine in January and told me that the new growth was where the grapes would grow. All rather exciting but our vine, like lots of others on the island, fell victim to a condition which caused lots of leaves to fall at the wrong time of year. Slightly disheartening, I thought, but again I pruned the vine in February and watched and waited. Eventually lots and lots of new shoots appeared. We watered the vine more regularly than last year and the first sign of tiny grapes appeared.
Ann and I were delighted by this. What fun. Other vines in the area are more advanced but ours may be a later variety. Just one bunch of grapes would be a triumph. Who says you cannot find new hobbies as you get older?
