Navigating the Negev

Went on a hike in the Negev desert which is in the Southern end of Israel. The Negev desert covers more than half of Israel, about 55% of the country's land area and is around 4,700 square miles in area. Negev comes from the Hebrew word which means dry.It's a rocky desert and has interesting geological features such as 3 large craters. The Negev mountains are interrupted by dry river beds, called wadis.


These wadis bloom briefly after the rains, which is only about 12 inches annually.


Pancratium sickenbergeri spilling it's black seeds.


It's curly foliage.

A lone Acacia tree.

Silene colorata, Cloven-Petalled Campion

Calendula arvensis, Field Marigold

Salvia lanigera, Wooly Sage

Rumex cyprinus, Pink sorrel, with petals the color of lungs.

Asphodelus tenuifolius, Narrow-leaved Asphodel Bugloss

Thorny shrub and it's yellow blooms.

Anagallis arvensis, Scarlet pimpernel

I am not sure what this plant is and found it to be really strange. It has these spiny seedpods(?).
This area of the Negev was a sight to see, with all of the grasses swaying in the wind, all forming a community that wasn't found anywhere else.
Stipagrostis raddiana, Triple-awned grass

Stipagrostis raddiana, Triple-awned grass, is an important fodder for goats and herbivorous animals.

The dry river bed, or wadi, we hiked into. Mark and Dieter, two other scholarship students at the Jerusalem Botanical garden.A natural pool of water in the river bed.Stone bridges, andarches.Ahh, Papaver. Papaver humile Gazelles in the desert.
Another wadi we walked to.

Interesting geological formations.

Plates of rock.

Cistanche tubulosa, Desert broomrape emerging through the crusty top layer of sand in the dry river bed.
This is a parasitic plant that feeds off of desert trees and shrubs.
They bloom in yellow.

Bizarre but fascinating to see. Here is a blue blooming one, I think Mutel's broomrape, Orobanche mutelii.

Like a strange diorama the Negev revealed the many layers it is comprised of.

a theater stage set for stories.
Pennisetum orientale growing in little drifts.

It is dangerous to be in these riverbeds if a storm is coming because with the ground being so dry, the water can't penetrate quickly enough and creates rivers that flood quickly downstream.Persistence .An Ibek,

coming around the bend.

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....