Flower to brighten the day
July 24th, 2008 by Leora
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.
Pretty picture! Could they be snapdragons?
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.
Some kind of laurel?
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
Excellent! I see it grows in the Mediterranean area, so that would be closer to your “neck of the woods”, so to speak.
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.
Ooh! I love it!
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.
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.
quilly, thanks for confirming these are oleander. Batya, thanks for the warning. One reason I don’t plant foxglove: also poisonous.