Gardening

  • Try A Potted Cyclamen Rather Than Cut Flowers!

    Try A Potted Cyclamen Rather Than Cut Flowers!

    Yes indeed my friends, here in Israel is it officially cyclamen season! And truthfully we especially love this stunning winter flowering plant because it is also a beloved native plant to Israel, and a part of childhood songs that teach about the seasons. I have to admit it was quite a surprise the first time…

  • Kangaroo Paws, Anigozanthus, Blooms In August In Oakland, CA

    Kangaroo Paws, Anigozanthus, Blooms In August In Oakland, CA

    Whenever I go back to Northern California, my childhood stomping grounds, I’m always so very inspired by the gardens almost always with a focus on drought resistant species. Our stay in the historic neighborhood of Hadden Hill in Oakland was especially inspiring, and I had a chance to get to know some plants that I…

  • Agapanthus Blooms In August In Oakland, CA

    Agapanthus Blooms In August In Oakland, CA

    Growing up in Berkeley, California, we had a few clusters of Agapanthus on the side of the house that just bloomed year after year with seemingly very little care. Today, as a garden and flower lover I appreciate agapanthus even more, and was so thrilled to see it in bloom at the beginning of August…

  • The Stunning Glory Bush, Pleroma Heteromallum, Blooms In Northern California

    The Stunning Glory Bush, Pleroma Heteromallum, Blooms In Northern California

    Glory Bush also called silver leaved princess flower with the botanical name of Pleroma Heteromallum (though it has a few botanical names as well, strangely enough!) is a stunning purple flower with velvety leaves that is quite unique and happends to grow very well in Northern California, specifically, the historic Haddon HIll neighborhood in Oakland,…

  • Stunning Amaryllis Belladonna Blooms In Oakland, California

    Stunning Amaryllis Belladonna Blooms In Oakland, California

    One of the many treats of visiting my mother for a few weeks, this August, in Oakland California, as all the amazing gardens I enjoyed in the neighborhood where we stayed, historic Haddon Hill, just above Lake Merrit. Northern Californians love drought resistant and dramatic front yards these days, that front lawn is long gone,…

  • Huge Agave Plants Thrive In Historic Haddon Hill, Oakland

    Huge Agave Plants Thrive In Historic Haddon Hill, Oakland

    I have yet to share the many many photos from our summer vacation in California, but thought I’d start by sharing with you these amazing giant Agave plants that were everywhere in the Haddon Hill neighborhood of Oakland, CA. I love agave, but they are very expensive in Israel, and the small one I once…

  • Yucca Blooms In Northern Israel

    Yucca Blooms In Northern Israel

    Above: And that strelitzia that everyone thinkgs is a banana (wrong) grew to be sooooooo tall! Did you know that the Yucca plant actually has flowers? Honestly I only discovered this a few years ago, despite owning some Yucca plants myself! The first Yucca I ever saw in bloom was in a large container, so…

  • Thunbergia Laurifolia Blooms In My Container Garden

    Thunbergia Laurifolia Blooms In My Container Garden

    To me one of the things I love about summer is flowers! And in the month of July, just before things get really hot, there are usually many blooms to enjoy. One of the things that I adore are flowering vines, which are much easier to grow in the ground, but can be grown in…

  • Canna Blooms In My Northern Israel Container Garden!

    Canna Blooms In My Northern Israel Container Garden!

    One of the favorite plants that continues to thrive in my Northern Israel container garden, year after year, is Canna, a plant loved across the globe for its large leaves, dramatic height and stunning blooms, in red, orange or yellow. While our winters are somewhat hardy, and temps can get to freezing, this plant dies…

  • My Israeli Sub-Tropical Container Garden Blooms, In Late June!

    My Israeli Sub-Tropical Container Garden Blooms, In Late June!

    My container garden in Northern Israel is now full of color and I just had to share a few photos with you! Looking back at the archives, I see that late June early July has been the time, every year, that the garden comes alive with color. The roses bloom in all their glory earlier…

  • Stunning Coral Vine With Tiny Pink Blooms In Harduf, Israel

    Stunning Coral Vine With Tiny Pink Blooms In Harduf, Israel

    This past summer we has the great pleasure of a three night stay on Kibbutz Harduf, (more about that soon) in the Southwestern corner of the Galil, and I saw a lovely vine with tiny flowers that I did not recognize. Fast forward, today I finally had to chance to do a bit of research…

  • How to Plan a Large Vegetable Garden

    Now that the shemittah year has passed, during which we did not work the land in Israel, we can start to think about vegetable gardens again! I don’t have any land, but might be able to install some raised beds on a paved area, which could also work. I dream of having a cutting garden…