Israel, toda and shalom

Oh Israel, you have not been easy but I have come to respect and adore you. You didn't expose yourself immediatedly but waited to show me your treasures such as your wild tulips. 

Tulipa agenensisI was always in awe of your wonderful landscapes and with how breathtaking and different they were, the coast, the desert, the mountains and the Dead Sea.  How incredible they all are.

The tiny Adonis aestivalis, holding its own in the wild. Your plants are strong, just like your people.  I made some amazing friends there and appreciate and adore the bond we have created.

 Here is a native cactus in the Asclepidaceae family growing next to some rocks. I have had a hard time identifying you but you still try to keep your secrets.

 I adored these treasures that you keep hiding, like your little wild areas showing your white colored cliffs of limestone.

The desert landscape is something I have never encountered and am still in shock by how immense and incredible it can be.

And how you bathe yourself in sunlight, changing colors with each passing moment.

 The Dead Sea areas were fascinating and how plants have adaped to living in your wadis, with the view they constantly have of the Jordan mountains.  I am so jealous. 
The botanical name is Anastatica hierochuntica. Rose of Jericho.  This plant goes dormant for years if need be and once the rains come, it comes alive, slowly opening up all the way with hopes of blooming to set seed and continue on. 
Here you have an established plant community of them which was in decline for awhile but are starting to return.

I was able to see your desert broomrape in the desert come alive with it's yellow blooms.

Cistanche tubulosa, even though you are a parasite, your still wonderful to see.

The light shows you the subtle colors and tones of your plants, all surviving in such harsh conditions.  They make me feel so humble. 

I won't forget how tiny and humbled I was by your desert.
I'll miss your olive trees and your stunning natural landscapes with Chrysanthemum coronarium.

Alkanna tinctoria,  with your beautiful blue hues, waking up the countryside with your color.

Iris atropurpurea clump growing in the wild. Never did I think I would have this opportunity to see such amazing plants growing in their natural habitat.   Iris atropurpurea, dark and lovely.

Or to get the chance to see wild garlic,  such as Allium tel-avivense.

I was fortunate to see your spring wildflowers such as this field full of Chrysanthemum coronarium.

Thank you, Israel, for an amazing 6 months here, it wouldn't have been possible without the British Friends Scholarship at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.  I am very fortunate and happy to have received the scholarship.   It is sad to leave you but life and new experiences beckon me.  I leave you know to spend a week in England, a week in Spain, and then on to Holland. I'll miss you and the wonderful friends I have made there, but I promise you, I will be back......Now,  I will be studying on a private estate in Holland for the next few months...... I'll keep you posted....

Beating the winter blues

The seedlings are still going strong in the nursery, though this one seems to be struggling to break free. The rains came, briefly, and was enough to help green the garden up with grasses and some wildflowers. It is quite a difference from arriving at the end of summer when alot of the undergrowth was dormant. It is said that this has been one of the driest winters in a long time. But where there is no rain, there is irrigation, and the annuals are enjoying the warm sun with the cooler temperatures. One morning I was greeted by Papaver nudicaule, Iceland Poppy, that had their blooms so open and wide facing the bright sun.Finally, the wild lupines, Lupinus pilosus, have started to bloom, as it is here amongst Calendula officinalis.I saw this wonderful combination while pruning all of the roses back in the garden. Sometimes the best angles are found from inside the planting bed, which is a shame, but those of us who work in gardens get to enjoy all the benefits... It is Lupinus pilosus, Rosemary, Calendula officinalis, Aloe vera, and Cynarea carbunculosis.The short bit of rain has helped some of the bulbs to awaken from dormancy. In some rock crevices in the garden there was Cyclamen persicum and Muscari sp.I never thought there would be a moment where Hedera helix would stop me in my tracks, but on a shortcut from work to home it did. But then again, I have always been a sucker for a good blue.

Or this blue fence with the yellow blooms. It's always fun to be a peeping tom, within reason of course, and see what other people are doing, especially in their gardens. Here is a nice garden with a nice range of cacti and succulents. Here is the side view,

and the front.

At the market in the German Colony, I saw this arrangement of plants on the wall. The contrast of the wall is what caught me eye.

And Hardenbergia spp.

trailing

down.

Happy Spring....... well, at least here in Jerusalem.

And we're off.....

So, a New Year and new beginnings have already started, everywhere you look, in the garden and in politics, in all places of the world. But let's stick with the plants. Now that the rains have come, and gone, and come again, the garden is secretly waking up, in it''s wondrous ways. The tiny Lupinus pilosus, one of Israel's native splendors, it pushing it's sleepy way up through some fallen Oak foliage. You can almost hear it stretching upon awakening from a long nap. The winter garden seems to have alot more life here now than it does at home during this time of year. The days have fluctuated from around 50degrees to 65degrees, not bad for a January day, especially with all of the snow everyone else has been getting..

And on the Fourth Day, Forsythia was created...

A quiet morning around the lake, made mystical by the fluffy seedheads of Arundo donax.The gardens are a stopover to many birds, but sometimes they enjoy so much they stay awhile.This is the resident Cormorant, which is a sea bird that dives under the water to catch fish. It will dive under in one spot and come up a good distance away, gulping the fish down upon surfacing. This bird then stands on a rock with wings outstretched, slowly flapping them back and forth, to let the warmth of the sun dry him off.

The paths of the garden are most visible in their crossing pattern.In the South African section you have the Aloe species all starting to bloom and erupt with organge spikes.


The red hued Sedum x rubrotinctum, due to the winter temperature, against the silver Gazania nivea, and the purple gray Plectranthus sp.

Another wonderful native plant is the Crown anemone, Anemone coronaria, which is protected and is not allowed to picked in the wild. Here in all her glory, a brilliant red screaming out to any passerby to be looked at.

And here are the cultivated flowers for sale on the streets here, in a handmade vase from a Jerusalem potter.

Even though it has been warm in Jerusalem, I still need the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv once in a while, and the warmer weather here is an added bonus. While walking through the neighborhoods, I came across this Poinsettia tree/shrub. So large, it had to be admired.

Bauhaus architecture and ornamental trunks.

Work has been so hard, a little relaxing time on the beach was needed. Ok, relaxing on the beach is always needed, one can't help it.

I hope that this year is as sunny and beautiful is it has been for me so far........

the happenings at the JBG and holidays in Jerusalem

Alot of things have been going on in the gardens as of late, especially alot of planting now that Smita had ended a few months ago. In the greenhouse\nursery, where I work three days a week, alot of seed sowing has been taking place. Alot of seeds have been put into cold stratification and trays of seed sowing have been taking place every day. Though we always associate beauty with the flowers when we think of plants, seeds are not really looked at in this way. When looking at so many seeds all the time, it is easy to become amazed with the range of differences they have, some exquisite, some non-descript but each unique.

Here is the mottled seedcoat of Sapium japonicum, which is a shrub\small tree from Japan. I'll never tire of seeing seeds opening up to push out through the soil to display the strength of its first growth, the cotyledons and first true set of leaves. They will always stop me in my tracks. This is Lupinus pilosus, a native plant to Israel with the most intense blue blooms that we are growing to add to the display section of the garden. Look at how cute and furry that foliage is, if it was a chld you would just want to pinch their cheeks... Here is Narcissus tazetta, in bloom at the gardens. This is what we were on the search for in the wild a few weeks earlier, but did not find due to the lack of rains. The only reason it is in bloom here is due to irrigation systems that are spread throughout the garden.
A display area in full bloom, providing nice color during a time of year I would normally associate with dormancy. It is a mix of Viola spp. and Mathiola incana.

This was a project that I first worked on upon arriving in the gardens, a retaining wall built into a dedicated area. It hasn't been open to the public for a few months so the concrete could set, and then so the turf would have time to fill out dense enought to withstand the traffic.

Agave parryi sending up some bloom spikes...
Which just make me hungry every time I go past them because they aways remind me of really large pieces of asparagus.

So spending the holidays here has been an exciting and eventful experience. On Christmas Day, I went to the post offiice where I received a package from my sister full of gifts and home made goodies from my family. Such a great way to start the day, a full fudge breakfast never hurt anyone once in a while right? Then I went to spend some time with another scholarship student in Bethlehem. It is in occupied territory so we had to go through checkpoints to get there even though it is only about 1\2 and hour away. This is the Church of the Nativity, which is where Jesus was born.

It was awe-inspiring inside, especially since there were parts that dated back to the Byzantine era.

There were alot of people there, and there was incense burning, candles lit, and a very exciting\emotional experience, especially to be able to do this on Christmas day.

This is the view of Bethlehm from the top of the hill that the Church of the Nativity was on. A magical moment, especially with the rainbow that arched it's way over the city.

This is Christmas in the Old City in Jerusalem.

And some hot spiced wine in the evening at the American Colony hotel. Christmas trees and Palm trees.....
One of my favorite memories of Jerusalem at this time of year was walking around in the evenings and seeing the beautiful menorahs all lit up and on display outside of every ones homes.

I wish everyone all the best, especially in the New Year, for peace and health , and may it be filled with friends and family in 2009....