A little mosaic of the textures, flavours, colors and aromas that made my spring this year, and to fill in some gaps of what I was doing since the last posts… From the tangy flavours of green almonds, grapevine leaves and passion fruit, to the shivering and fuzzy texture of fava beans, loquat, green almonds and the salt of the Dead Sea, to the refined scent of orchards in bloom and rose gardens – this is a reminder of some of the many small delights that make our lives wonderful.

While Jerusalem is renowned for its ancient stones and holy history, it is much less known for its beautiful gardens. It is probably the most well gardened city in Israel, with an abundance of fragrant bushes, shrubs and trees and plenty of flower gardens that will not embarrass a British gardener. Here are just some of the gardens I have seen, all in the neighbourhoods of Yemin Moshe and Nahalat Shiva. The jasmine and pissosporum photos in the following post are also taken in the same gardens.

Citrus blossom is the quintessential scent of spring in Israel. And if you think that it ends with orange blossoms, you are seriously mistaken. All citrus trees are in full bloom, and if the humming bees don’t waste their time to make honey from all the sweet & tart fragrant nectar, even more so the perfumer and fragrance enthusiast should not miss this fabulous season. I am surprised that the Middle East does not have a tradition of going out to the orchard to admire the blossoms, much like the Japanese admire their Sakura.

The most fantastic thing about citrus blossoms is that the while their scent is distinctively floral, they are also reminiscent of the fruit to come. After all, the fruit is what will come out of the flowers! And as you can see in the pomelo blossom photo above, the little fruit are already starting to emerge.