A potpourri of ideas about Highland Park; books; Jewish topics; art, health, parsha, web design, kids, food, gardening and …

Flower to brighten the day

by Leora

flower
It’s nice to have a cheery photo at the top of my blog. This is a flower from the kibbutz we stayed at in the north of Israel, Kfar Blum. An expert in the comments (see below) has declared this a nerium oleander.

Filed Under: Israel, photography by Leora on July 24, 2008

10 Responses to “Flower to brighten the day”

  1. frumhouse Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 9:11 am

    Pretty picture! Could they be snapdragons?

  2. Leora Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 9:22 am

    Snapdragons grow closer to the ground. They do have those in Israel. This flower grows in a big, tall bush. The long leaves are probably a good clue.

  3. Ilana-Davita Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 9:23 am

    Some kind of laurel?

  4. Ilana-Davita Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 2:56 pm

    I have asked the expert gardener in this house - that isn’t me- it is a nerium oleander.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerium_oleander

  5. Leora Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Excellent! I see it grows in the Mediterranean area, so that would be closer to your “neck of the woods”, so to speak.

  6. Ilana-Davita Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    We have one but in a pot so here again it has to go back inside during the winter months, though not in the basement.

  7. hihorosie Says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

    Ooh! I love it!

  8. quilly Says:
    July 25th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    I am no expert, but my partner is a botanist and he says that yes, indeed, these are oleander. I had never seen them before moving to Hawaii. I think they are quite wonderful.

  9. Batya Says:
    July 26th, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    We have some of these trees, but we didn’t know that they are dangerous, or we wouldn’t have bought them. Yes, they’re poisonous. So, just look, don’t pick and don’t let kids get near enough to touch them.

  10. Leora Says:
    July 27th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

    quilly, thanks for confirming these are oleander. Batya, thanks for the warning. One reason I don’t plant foxglove: also poisonous.

Please write something! I like to hear from you.