Israel: Tsfat, Safed
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Red Poppies And White Daisies In Bloom In Northern Israel
I love sharing with you all the beautiful seasonal blooming and bearing of fruit of native species here in Israel, and so of course the blooming of the red poppies, a month late this year, is on the list of things to share. I previously wrote about poppies in bloom on a hillside near my home here, but then I recently came across another patch of dense blooms and just had to photograph it! I took these photos a week plus ago, and fortunately as we are now experiencing a heat wave that has certainly led to the demise of these beauties. And the weather has been so hot that…
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Pride Of Madeira Blooms In Northern Israel
One of my favorite non-native yet very Mediterranean garden friendly plants is Pride of Madeira. I found some small plants at a local nursery years ago, and the tiny plants have become woody bushes/trees that bloom every Spring with gorgeous cone-shaped purple flower stalks. This year we had a very wet winter and so all the plants are blooming roughly a month late, which is fine by me, just now that the hot weather has arrived the blooms will likely not last as long, such is life. In any case, I’ve once again photographed the Pride of Madeira bush in a garden I designed a few years back, and it…
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Wild Red Poppies In Bloom In Northern Israel!
At long last, after a thankfully very very wet winter, the beloved red poppies are in full bloom! Truthfully, they are about a month or so late, and not nearly as prolific as usual, but lovely nonetheless. After a long walk in the area and only spotting sparse areas of poppies here and there, I came across a hillside, just a minute from my house, full of vibrant red poppies in bloom! Wow, so beautiful, and so of course I just had to take lots of photos to share with you! These red poppies, are natives to Northern Israel, though it turns out that there are several species of red…
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Wisteria Blooms In Northern Israel
During the Passover holiday my daughter was itching to just get outside, so I sent her down the street to the garden I designed a few years back, with the mission of photographing the glorious wisteria in bloom! Wisteria blooms before there are any leaves on the vine, so it is truly spectacular, the only downside being that it just doesn’t last long enough! This year the usual tour groups that gather in this location will most certainly not be coming, so this may be my chance to start the wisteria filled pergola for creating a shaded area with vines! I have seen this before, and it actually works really…
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Cranes Migrating Home To Europe On A Rainy Day
Yes, dear readers, we know that Spring is quickly approaching, even in some of the colder countries in Europe, as the twice-yearly crane migration is happening! This is one of our favorite things to witness, here in Northern Israel, and family members generally shout to one another “cranes!” and everyone comes running, as it is truly a sight not to be missed. Sometimes small groups of cranes fly close enough to even see their tiny feet with the naked eye, while most of the time the cranes are rather far away. Today, amidst the rain clouds I spotted several very large groups of cranes, and ran to grab my camera.…
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Almond Trees In Bloom In Northern Israel, Just Like In Van Gogh’s Painting!
Here in Northern Israel where we are blessed to be living close to nature, the yearly blooming of the almond trees is something that brings great joy! The almond tree is the first tree to bloom, and as fruit bearing tree it is one of the trees whose New Year we celebrate on the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat. Every year we await the first blooms, the kids arrive home with reports on the status of the trees, and it is something mentioned among friends and neighbors. Why? because it is truly a joyful sight, in the middle of the winter, when all the other plants are still sleeping, to…