Spring is in the air – so off to
the Garden Centre
By Margaret Sheard
It is the time of year when the sun is shining and it is s
o nice to see lots of colour in the garden so a visit to Eminağa Garden Centre near Doğanköy was on the list of things to do, probably a bit later than it should have been but nevertheless at least we would have some colour until the flowers take their toll with the blistering sun in a couple of months time.
Eminağa Garden Centre is a lovely place to visit with a huge selection of plants, shrubs and trees and a splendid array of pots and urns of all shapes and sizes which really make you want to buy one, in fact anything for the garden – you will find there. I wanted to replace my hanging baskets which have been empty over the winter and there was a lovely selection of trailing petunias and other flowers in so many different colo
urs, it was hard to choose. I am a lazy gardener and find it easier to buy ready planted baskets than start from scratch, a bit expensive but all you have to do is hang them up and immediately have lovely cascades of flowers.
Another nice feature at the garden centre is their cafeteria. It has changed a bit since I last visited, the children’s play area has now been converted into an extension of the cafe with a roofed area to give shade and the waterfall is still there giving a tranquil feel to the whole area. There is a good choice of food from the menu if you want to eat, as well as a selection of cakes and desserts and hot and cold drinks. The cafe is well set out and furnished with comfortable seating and cushions, it reminds me a little of a village tea room. There is an inside area for cooler weather and the outside has ple
nty of shade under the covered area. It is a very attractive place to visit even if you are not buying plants.
After having some lunch and getting ready to choose some plants, we got talking to a group of people sitting at an adjacent table, they were very interesting to talk to and during our conversation they gave us some information about themselves, which Yeşim kindly added to later by email.
Yeşim Ucak/TR citizen, born in 1968, lives and works in Istanbul and is the owner of a travel agency. Yeşim has houses in both Istanbul and Kyrenia and comes over at least once every month to visit the TRNC. She loves the peaceful relaxed atmosphere here away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul.
Yeşim’s sister – Isil Ucak/TR citizen, born in Istanbul in 1971 and has lived in Kyrenia since 2011, Isil’s daughter was with her – Semin Bassezen/ TR citizen/born in Istanbul in 2001 and has lived in Kyrenia since 2011. Semin is in the 7th grade at the English School of Kyrenia
Also in the group was Salih Suphi : born in Istanbul in 1951/both TR and TRNC citizen and he has lived in Lefke since 2004 after living at Istanbul for 45 years. Salih teaches Accounting & Finance at Lefke European University and he is a member of a very old family of Lefke, and is the son of Dr Izzet Suphi.
We learned that Salih has a lot of information about the history of Lefke, including many old photographs so we would definitely like to make his acquaintance again and find out more about the area where he lives.
We would have liked to have stayed longer talking to this nice group of people, but time was pressing on and we needed to go
and choose some plants so we said our farewells and promised to keep in touch and meet up again at some time in the not too distant future.
We went to the huge adjoining covered area and there I saw a young man who used to occasionally help out in my garden as well as working at a local restaurant, he has been at the Garden Centre for some 3½ years now so it looks as if he has found his ideal job. There was another young man who helped us load our plants and ferry them to the checkout. We found the staff to be very helpful. While we were browsing around I saw a very large earthenware jug which really took my fancy and I had a little joke with the owner’s son who asked me when my birthday was and then told Chris to start saving up. The item was very expensive! When we 
arrived at the checkout we met up with Eşref Eminağa who remembered a previous article we had written about the garden centre for a local newspaper.
Our helpful young assistant loaded everything into the car and even went and found newspapers to lay on the back seat, as I have already said, very helpful. So off we went with our newly acquired purchases and on arriving home we had an immediate display of colour from the hanging baskets, with the other items laid out ready for the gardener on Monday. A very satisfying afternoon.
See below for directions to the Garden Centre and also a slideshow of some of the lovely plants and flowers on display.
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