Avy On Benefit: A Botanical Garden in South Tel-Aviv?

Do you know your Artemisia Monosperma from your Asparagus Paleastinus? Me neither, which is why I decided to pay a visit to the botanical garden of south Tel-Aviv. Admitadly, I had never heard a single soul breath a word about a botanical garden in south Tel-Aviv, and it's location just off Kibutz Galuyot Road doesn't exactly inspire thoughts of a tropical paradise, so this was either going to be a hidden gem or a complete disappointment. Well there was only one way to find out.

When i finally found the entrance to the school complex from which to access the garden, which wasn't exactly marked with bright neon lights, the security guards were suspicious of me as they couldn't grasp why I would even bother to come and visit. They requested to see my ID card and proceeded to ask me questions about where I live. Things weren't looking too promising.

Following the guard's instructions, I followed a path through the complex, past the "zoological garden", which was in fact some sort of old age home for animals, and descended to the entrance of the botanical garden. First impressions weren't good. The phrase "botanical garden" usually inspires thoughts of lush green-houses and meticulously organised plants labelled with their latin names. Sure there were a few signs but the flora were rather disorganised and neglected with a large part of the garden looking more like a desert.

Well a good photographer can find the beauty in anything, right? Even one with a 1.3 megapixel mobile phone camera, so I set about seeking the limited natural wonders of this place, just so my visit wouldn't be a complete waste of time, and honestly, I think I did a pretty good job of it, even if I do say so myself. Trust me these pics make the place look a hell of a lot prettier than it is, at least in summer, and for your education, where possible, I've delved into my new found knowledge of botany to name the various species below. Enjoy!