Under the Pergola

copyright Coastal Gardening Society 2011

As a teenager, my parents took me to the North end of Corfu, to a small place called Barbati. We stayed in a low-rise block of apartments right by the beach. Within walking distance was a taverna with a huge pergola above the tables, loaded with grapes. I don't know what the Corfiots did with the grapes but retsina just isn't my kind of wine. I loved the idea of pergola with grapes shading a table to have Sunday lunch under in summer. Bought two vines from Crocus http://www.crocus.co.uk a pinot noir and a chardonnay. The chardonnay did not like being watered by my dog and quickly succumbed. The pinot noir thrived. In fact, I think it's quite fair to say that the pinot noir is aiming to take over the garden, my neighbour's garden and the street. It's more rampant than Casanova and Bill Clinton combined.

Forest pergola from Freemans http://www.freemans.com painted in Farrow and Ball Estate Emulsion 'Cooking Apple Green' http://www.farrow-ball.com