Tully Chaplin, Jani A Greek Island Nature Diary (1913491749)
Greek Island Nature Diary is a lavish journal of highly detailed watercolours and accompanying pencil drawings of flora, fauna and natural objects observed and collected during the author's years living in Corfu and sailing the Ionian on her family's oceangoing catamaran. This evocative diary is based on the author's notes and sketches made in remote coves, in the thickets of the littoral and in the thyme scented mountains of the interior. Alongside these studies the book includes many fascinating, informative and often practical descriptions of the medicinal, olfactory and culinary uses of the wild plants found in this naturalist's paradise. As well as her own personal observations, the text reveals surprising links between Ancient Greek civilisation and modern medicine; references to related Greek mythology and folklore intermingle with quotations from poetry and prose associated with the plants.