January - April 2016 | NO 13 A Garden View The Hebrew versions of articles in English often carry different photographs, A New Book available at the garden’s shop Contents which are worth checking out! Beautiful Israel In The Green 2 New Book 13 Avinoam Danin-In Plants and Flowers in Israel Memorial 4 News 14 Shlomo Ilan-The Visionary 6 Nature’s New Years From the Garden to the 7 The Almond tree 15 Will It Adapt? Plate! Comunity Gardens’ 8 Tu B’Shvat of Growth 16 and Camaraderie program & courses 10 Endangered Trees 18 Friends and Volunteers 20 Family Page 11 Deciduous Conifers in the Jerusalem Botanical 22 Events Gardens 12 Five Common and Important Mistakes in Maintaining Mature Trees Editors: Ruth Perlman and Sara Adar Join us on a wonderful journey in a colourful album and explore our rich Scientific editing: Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir botanical diversity. The book was just published by the Council for a Beautiful Israel and the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens. The author of the book is Ori Editorial Board: Sara Adar, Channa Cohen, Nehama Foerster, Ruth Perlman, Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir Fragman-Sapir and several talented photographers contributed to its beauty, Odelia Aroshas Eyal Bartov is a prominent one. Each photograph is accompanied by a short Photography: Ori Fragman-Sapir, Judith Marcus botanical text as well as the place and date of photography. Graphic Design: Keren Shapira-Buzaglo Translation: Ofer Grunwald, Professional Translation Services In the book you can find impressive trees, landscapes, beautiful flowers, unique plants, Printed by: Shimshon Printers endangered species and more. We chose to concentrate on the wild plants that adorn Address: 1 Zalman Shneor Street, Nayot, Jerusalem (via Nayot Petrol Station) and brighten the landscape all year, and a specific group of ornamental and agricultural Mailing address: The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, Hebrew University Givat Ram Campus, plants. Jerusalem 9021401 The book is bi-lingual (English-Hebrew) and profits from its sales are directed to plant Telephone: 02 6794012 | Fax: 02 6793941 conservation in Israel. www.en.botanic.co.il Winter Opening hours: Sundays through Thursdays 9.00-17.00 Fridays and holiday eves 9.00-15.00 Sabbaths and holidays 9.00-17.00 Hours may be extended for special events - please check our website. Cover photo: Common Almond 2 3 This Time, from the Hub By Lior Gottesman Garden’s News... Garden’s News... Garden’s News... Director, JBG Hub The Hub is center, or common meeting Maayan Shiri joined our team as The Green Team project is now in place, for various different activities. Community Coordinator. Maayan holds its fourth year of teaching Jerusalem’s a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences. youths eco-leadership skills. The project The Gardens’ Hub was established about Before joining our team, she was the provides a fun, hands-on study program eighteen months ago, and focuses on director of the municipal community and combining community involvement, eco-social projects. It brings together environmental education department and joint-projects with organizations all of the Gardens’ community-action in Ramat Gan, and before that she nurturing young entrepreneurs. programs, both old and new. The Hub worked as project coordinator in the The program is part of the personal also serves as a meeting place for Hiriya Recycling Park. Maayan studied responsibility volunteer work required Jerusalem’s professional sustainability of permaculture. she is a total plant of high school students, offering teens the community. freak, and believes in the power of support, empowerment, added value, *** communities to create an eco-friendly and a unique experience. urban environment supporting high- *** A training nursery was officially opened quality sustainable living standards. And finally, The Gardens are already the Hub hosted its first community event in October. The nursery is handicap- *** operating a sizable compost- accessible, and hosts various Hub groups The Gardens Community program In October, the Hub hosted its first production program, using top-quality daily. These include ALUT’s program for for people over 55 has welcomed a new community event, attended by more gardening waste. But since November, autistic adults; REUT’s PTSD programs; group. There are now two groups working than 100 representatives from diverse we have added our organic kitchen Gardens Community activities, and in the Gardens, comprising over 50 organizations and groups, working on waste to the compost pile. As part of others. The nursery provides horticultural members which visit the Gardens three eco-sustainability projects in Jerusalem, this effort, we have placed two compost training and occupational rehabilitation, times a week. In addition to their eco- as well as the Gardens’ staff. During the bins near the Hub training nursery, and and will house plants intended for use horticultural training, group members event, the Hub team presented the results dedicated bins in the kitchens. in edible forest Gardens throughout engage in eco-volunteer projects each of its mapping project, conducted with The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens are Jerusalem. week. For example, they work with the 40 of these organizations, to map out proud to join the Turning the City Green “Dolls and Dreams” program, where relevant activities in Jerusalem. We talked composting revolution. *** the Gardens Community meet with about how the Gardens’ Hub can support *** Holocaust survivors once a month to these projects, serving as a key forum garden together. They also volunteer in for the professional community, through Community Gardens around the city. mutually-supported specialization and *** exchanges. The second part of the evening consisted of round-table discussions, where a random group of people from diverse backgrounds engaged in fascinating discussions on ways to increase collaboration, expanding both the reach and impact of these activities in Jerusalem. a sizable compost-production program training nursery *** The Gardens Community program 4 5 The Almond Tree Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir Winter is in full swing, and almonds already bloom. Flowering and Pollination in Almonds We can all revel at their beautiful blossoms, and later The almond flower has five large petals, which – from their delicious almonds. The almond got its attract hungry insects. The flower provides insects Hebrew name (Shaked) from its winter flowers – as food through pollen and nectar. Some of the pollen though it were working (shoked) to bring forth its sticks to the insect, which then pollinate other beauty before all the other local spring flowers. It is almond flowers. The almonds cannot self-pollinate, the first tree to flower – and so it has become integral meaning, that a flower can identify the source of the to that festival of trees – Tu B’Shvat. pollen and rejects pollen from the same plant. Thus, a lone almond tree would not set fruit. Nature’s New Years The almond goes by various names: commonly, it A Date that became a Holiday is known as ‘almond’; in Hebrew – shaked matsui; Almonds bloom before setting out leaves. Questions while its Latin name is Amygdalus communis. It is on the almond bloom were dealt by Prof. Avi Yedidya Yerushalmi a member of the rose plant family, which includes Shmida & co., who formulated interesting theories The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1) mentions Nature’s fasting or supplication, students were dismissed many other well-known plants, such as the plum, on the matter: the early blooming almonds avoid New Year as date that was disputed between Beit early from Torah schools and midrashoth. In pear, cherry, apple, strawberry and rose. competition with other flowers over pollinating Shamay and Beit Hillel: 1st of Shvat, according to schools and at home, people drank wine with a insects. However, such flowering behavior entails Beit Shamay; or 15th of Shvat, according to Beith sweet biscuit and ate various fruit (particularly The almond has been cultivated in Israel since risk, its flowers can be ruined by winter storms. Such Hillel. Here, Nature’s New Years was counted those of Eretz Israel) which were received with ancient times. It is mentioned in the ancient texts, a risk could only be taken by a long living plant: one together with other ‘New Year’s days’, some of reverence and a longing for redemption. Even the but was not included among the Seven Species. The year it may lose its flowers in a storm, but in others which are not considered holidays, such as: the carob, which was considered food for goats in tree was one of the only crops which can be grown it will have an advantage in pollinating and setting Kings’ New Years, and New Years’ for tithes of Eretz Israel, was greatly honored in the Diaspora, in the mountainous terraces alongside olives, figs, its fruits. beasts. In conjunction with this reference, the and eaten as a true member of the fruits of the pomegranates, and grapes. Mishnah states: “The world is judged at four land. Who knows how many flowers an almond tree has? intervals of the year: At Pesah regarding produce, At the same time, in his book Hemdat Yamim, Much can be learn about the almonds from Prof. In surveys conducted in the Jerusalem Botanical on Shavuot regarding tree fruit…” These texts Rabbi Binyamin Halevi of Tsfat detailed a Tu Daniel Zohary’s writings. The genus Amygdalus Gardens, we have counted thousands of flowers indicate that the 15th of Shvat (Beit Hillel B’Shvat seder, which included the eating of thirty includes some forty species, ranging from China on small trees, and tens of thousands up and up Halachah) is the date of record for closing and types of fruit, a special blessing for each fruit and to Italy. Some of them can be seen in the Gardens’ to 250,000 flowers on larger trees! However, starting a new year of agricultural work, but is not reading passages from the Torah, the Mishnah Asian Section.