BBGS and Dr Ed Bez recommended Archaeological dig for 2012

For those of you interested in a short-term archaeological experience I recommend the exciting work being done by Dr. Bryant Wood and others at 

Khirbet el-Maqatir, Israel. This site has been proposed to be the ancient site of Ai; the second city of the great Conquest under Joshua's leadership.

Dig for the Biblical Ai with Associates for Biblical Research this summer.

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Dr Ed and Rachel Bez have returned to the USA

After six months working at a biblical garden and archaeological park in Israel, the Executive Director of Biblical Botanical Gardens Society, Dr Ed Bez and his wife, Rachel arrived back in the states on Monday, December 19, 2011.

Watch for updates, pictures and "lessons from the soil" articles to begin appearing soon.

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Photo: taken at Neot Kedumim in Israel the largest biblical floral reserve in the world. Here Dr. and Mrs. Bez stand among the blooming Sea Squill (Urginea maritima). Sea squill are among a handful of "weather flora"; flowers which bloom to indicate an approaching season. Squill is a harbinger of the rainy season (December-May) in Israel. 

Medicinal date palm from oldest known seed planted

Phoenix dactylifera

http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=246956

Growing Trees in the Deserts (Araba) of Israel

http://www.israel21c.org/environment/growing-forests-in-the-desert

Sukkot: The Four Species, myrtle, palm fronds, willow and citron

From Biblicalflora news group comes this outstanding article from Arthur Schaffer
"THE AGRICULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL SYMBOLISM OF THE FOUR SPECIES OF SUKKOT"
is now online:
http://www.agri.gov.il/download/files/my%20four%20species_1.pdf
This is a very insightful article and carefully researched.

Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani)

Cedar forests lead Lebanon eco-tourism boom

Watch a fascinating video about this majestic Cedar giant.

Nature Museum in Jerusalem Battles for it's Life

Ed Bez

The Nature Museum seems to be in the right place at the wrong time. According to a report in the July 27th edition of the Jerusalem Post, the museum, among many other featured children's activities, also provides a place for religious and secular, and even Arabs and Jewish people to mix.

That place? An organic community garden.

That's right...an organic garden as a place of peace, understanding and cooperation.

The museum records about 12,000 visitor's per month. Nothing to sneeze it by most standards. So what's the problem. The museum, located in the German Colony is slated to become the first (American) liberal arts college in Israel.

Local authorities say, "Don't worry, trust us, we have plans for a bigger, better nature museum just up the street."

So far, the dedicated staff members at the museum are not excited about promises. The differance between rhetoric and reality is well known in this region. So they have begun a series of peaceful protests.

Is there a solution? Certainly. Build the other bigger and better nature museum before dismantling the current one. I'm all for education but, I'm also aware of the need here in the Middle East for programs that bring people together and even better if in involves gardening.

The Biblical Botanical Garden Society advocates not only the planting and care of plants mentioned in the Bible but also gives a "green" thumbs up to the creation of community gardens. We have seen amazing things happen between community members when they get involved with these kind of initiatives.

I hope to visit with the leadership and staff at the Nature Museum here in Jerusalem to learn more about their organic community garden programs. I'll be posting a blog after that meeting. 

In the meantime, take a moment to explore the Holy Book and see what surprises happened in or around gardens. You will be glad you did.

More on the Museum

Kiriath jearim and Yad Hashmona, Judea, Israel

The Central ridge in this aerial photo of the Judean Hill Country is the biblical site of Kiriath jearim (I Samuel 7) highlighted here in yellow. The ridge to the right highlighted in red is Yad Hashmona. 

Dr Bez and Rachel are working in the biblical gardens at Yad Hashmona. The gardens are over 20 acres and you can just imagine the amount of work it takes to maintain them. We are a staff of four full-timers and one part-timer.

To follow our adventures and challenges over the next six months read here.

Israel hailed as world leader in eco-innovation

World leaders in the field of "green" technology on Tuesday praised Israel as the world's foremost "laboratory" for eco-innovation. Read more? Click below...

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/tabid/178/nid/22866/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Tulip (Tulipa montana or Tulipa scharonensis)

"I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys." Song of Solomon 2:1

Debates have been waged for centuries concerning the true identity of the rose in scripture, that debate continues today. Some experts favor the fall crocus, others the narcissus. Others agree on the tulip.

It is known that tulips are native to the Mediterranean. The name "tulip likely comes from a Persian word meaning "turban."

The tulip is probably one of the Hebrew nitzanim, a group of flowers with handsome red flowers.

Because of their beauty and variety of color, they became garden plants very early in history and the center for their cultivation has for centuries been the Netherlands.

At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape. Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious Technicolor patchwork. Yet far from being a child's sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of the tulip season. With more than 10,000 hectares devoted to the cultivation of these delicate flowers, the Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of giddy colors as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs were planted in late October and early November, and these colorful creations are now ready to be picked and sold as bunches of cut flowers in florists and supermarkets. More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.

Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when Tulip mania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune. But like a rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon. When the flowers are gone, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables. The Netherlands produce more than nine million bulbs a year.

Enemies and Apples

Even nations at war need to eat. Fascinating article about Israeli grown fruit being delivered to their historical enemy, Syria, via the UN.

Israel and Syria may officially be at war with one another, but that isn’t preventing a bustling apple trade between the two countries.

Starting yesterday, February 15, and lasting three weeks, all apples grown by Israeli farmers on the Golan Heights will be exported to Syria. An estimated 12,000 tons of apples will be exported every day.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Israel has been able to export its apples to its belligerent neighbor.

Of course, the Syrians will not do business directly with the Israelis, so the apples are transfered through third parties, the UN and the International Red Cross. The produce will make its way into Syria via the UN base that sits on the border of the two nations.

Notes:

Biblical botanists have debated the "apple,apples" mentioned in the Bible. Many believe the apple may be the apricot (Armeniaca vulgaris)

The Hebrew word translated "apple" is tappuach.

Apples (Malus sylvestris Mill.) were likely introduced into Israel and Egypt from Iran, Armenia, or Turkey circa 4000 BC

Biblical refs: SOS 2:3 & 5, Joel 1:12, Josh 15:33, I Chron 2:43.

Resources:

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/tabid/178/nid/22658/Default.aspx

Plants of the Bible. Michael Zohary, 1982.

Did you know?

In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional
proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.

4,000 year old Egyptian relic found in a backyard garden in England (Dec 2010)

• Keep gardening folks you never know what you might find - Dr B

An Egyptian relic dug up in a Derby back garden has been valued at £10,000.

The owner of the item, a stone bust shaped as a pharaoh, appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow where the item was valued by antiques expert Henry Sandon.

Asked how he came across the item, the owner, who did not want to be identified, said: “I was doing some gardening when I hit it with my spade.

Read more...

• Flower power in the ancient world
  
  "Paradise lost and found : Ancient Royal Garden to be excavated"
  
  Ancient gardens are the stuff of legend, from the Garden of Eden to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Heidelberg University in Germany, have uncovered an ancient royal garden at the site of Ramat Rachel near Jerusalem, and are leading the first full-scale excavation of this type of archaeological site anywhere in the pre-Hellenistic Levant.
  To read more...

We welcome one of America's best loved and knowledgeable biblical gardener; Shirley Pinchiv Sidell. Shirley has an extensive background in biblical plants and gardening and serves our society as one of its board of Professional advisors.

Shirley has graciously consented to make her years of expertise and learning available to you. If you have ANY questions regarding biblical flora or gardening you can now "ASK SHIRLEY".
So "fire away" - "ASK SHIRLEY"any of your questions. Her responses will be made available on the network for all to enjoy and consult. A master file of Q's and A's will be made available as we build up a body of information.

Send your questions to bbgs.askshirley@gmail.com

CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE: Biblical Gardens