Instead of Groundhog Day...The Cyclamen, Rakefet

There's no Groundhog Day in Israel. We know that we're having a good winter when we see these flowers blooming.

The Cyclamen (Rakefet) is a hardy root, that spreads easily. The flowers pictured here are from my garden. A number of years ago, someone gave us one as a gift. When it dried out and died, I put it in the garden, and in good winters it blooms.

You can even find these flowers blooming in stone walls or around stairs. In a couple of months, when the rains cease and the air gets warm and dry, they will die... But next winter, Gd willing, if there's sufficient rain, even more cyclamens will bloom.

Where Have The Wild Flowers Gone?

Tel Shiloh used to be covered with gorgeous colorful wild flowers this time of year.

But a few years ago the administrator decided it was too wasteful to have to send gardeners to clean the paths from winter weeds. They used weed-killer which couldn't distinguish between weeds and legally protected wildflowers. So now it is so rare to see anything other than the almond trees blooming.

Trying to Learn Names of Local Plants

Growing up in New York, I had a pretty good grasp of the names of the local flora, especially after successfully completing a Girl Scout Badge which required not only recognizing the trees by their leaves, but also their barks. Well over a half a century later, I really don't remember much, but even thirty-forty years ago, when my children were young, it wouldn't have helped much. Here in Israel, I never knew the names of the local plants.

Due to different climates and continents, the native flora here in Israel and my native New York have very little in common. And you can't really expect the same sorts of gardens to grow in both places. I do have roses, which grow in New York, but we just don't give them the care they need to blossom much.

Last Thursday at the "Vatikim," "senior citizens" program in the Ofra Girls High School, a substitute teacher gave us a nice talk about plants according to the month they appear/flower. She'll be teaching my 2nd grade granddaughter this year.

I'm sure that most everyone else in the room knew all the material presented, but for me it was new. So I took pictures in hope to actually remember a bit of it. Here they are:

chazav, flowers before leaves come out

chelmonit named for yolk of egg which is same sort of yellow

marva

rakefet grows in hidden places like between rocks

duda'im, mandrakes mentioned in Bible as good for fertility

I'd need to hear the lecture a few times to remember more.