Foto Friday – Winter Wildflower Wonderland

February 3, 2012 - 7:48 PM by Rachel Neiman

I am not a great fan of rain and so this winter has been a particularly miserable one. Rain, rain, rain and more rain. However, even a sun worshiper such as myself can admit upside to the horrible, awful, gray, chilly, soggy, foggy, never-ending wet and damp: the landscape is green, the waterline at Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) has risen and the winter wildflowers are coming into full bloom.

This month, Israel’s nature-lovers will take their annual trek through field and forest in search of their favorite flowers. The Society for the Preservation of Nature (SPNI) is hosting a series of tours in celebration of the season and the upcoming Tu b’Shvat holiday. As always, they will seek out the shy and elusive Persian Cyclamen…

Photo by Sara Gold – Wildflowers of Israel

Fields dotted with blood red Crown Anemones are always a magnificent sight, but their light purple cousins are no less lovely…

Photo by Amikam Shoob – Wildflowers of Israel

The Common Narcissus, whose fragrance is nothing if not controversial…

Photo by Sara Gold – Wildflowers of Israel

The elegant and stately Wild Hyacinth…

Photo by Sara Gold – Wildflowers of Israel

And of course, Tu b’Shvat wouldn’t be complete without the blossoming almond tree!

Photo by Mike Livne – Wildflowers of Israel

Aspiring nature photographers take note: Wildflowers in Israel, in conjunction with Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and FujiFilm, is holding a photo contest and there are still a few days left before the deadline closes on February 8. Information and a list of subjects (in Hebrew) is available here or submissions can be emailed directly.

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