Tchochkes

I always hibernate in the winter. My garden is sleeping and I just can’t be bothered to move in the cold weather. Now that the weather is positively stunning, however, I can’t stop being outside and puttering in my garden. I have become so obsessed this spring I’ve even started Israeli_Gardening, a Yahoo gardening message board.

I wasn’t aware before I started the board, but there’s also a board for anglo’s gardening in Jerusalem.

Happy growing!

 This house in Chicago designed by its owners; Frances Whitehead and her husband James Elniskis, uses many aspects of “green technology”.
The outside is covered in corrigated steel and zinc siding to retain heat.

The interior uses a variety of different energy efficient features.
The floor in this living room is “radiant heated“. I think that this is a great winter solution for the cold marble floors here in Israel.

*I love the simplicity of the design in this loft like space.

The kitchen is a wide open space with vibrant color on the walls. The color choice here reflects light and connects nature elements from the outside with the inside space.

Chartruse green is a good choice for the kitchen, this is one room that can handle a lively color like this. I see that they also have accent pillows that work to “tie in” the green color thourghout the space.

More green upstairs… This couple likes green even more than I do! Used as an accent on the one wall it works. I really love the way they mixed old furniture with ethnic art.

And finally, the roof! This garden is not the eating kind, it is here to divert rainwater from running off  into the street. Wow, they thought of everything!

‘Does Israel have glass doors for baths?‘ When you’ve been here as long as Barbara and I have you vaguely remember the conveniences from home and are somewhat unaware of what advances have been made in Israel. Barbara lives in a small flat in the center of Jerusalem with a sit in shower and she’s tired of the curtain.

I’m not a big fan of the curtain myself - they get moldy after a few months and then you throw them out, so all they do is cost money and fill landfills with plastic. Her issue is fear of the black gunk that collects at the bottom of the door if you remember the old sliding glass doors from home. Barbara is also worried that the glass would be difficult to clean.

I haven’t seen the traditional sliding glass doors in Israel (but I know that they have them here), instead I’ve seen the mixture that you see below. A static window for 1/8 of the shower space, and then a door on hinges which swings in and out of the shower space as needed. If you are showering you can close that door in so that none of the water gets out of the bath, which is the point of the door.

Cleaning is very valid point with these doors, as the water in Israel is very hard and filled with stone. If you don’t clean it weekly you will be subjecting yourself to a world of pain once you decide to clean it. When that happens (and it does, don’t deny it - we all have times when we’re simply not in the mood to fully clean the bathroom) I have the miracle cure for the door - vinegar. This stuff cuts through the stone and leaves your surfaces shiny and clean - albeit a tad smelly.

If you’re looking for a glass curtain you can try Dar Glass, or just do a google.co.il search for glass showers.

Living in an apartment does not have to mean “no gardens allowed”. If you have windows, you can have gardens. This small addition is a “breath of fresh air” to any city dwelling.

This is a photo of my small garden just outside the kitchen window.
Every Tubisvat I replant the herbs and flowers and by Purim theyare bursting with color!

Window box gardening is pretty simple.
All you need is to find the garden center nearest you.
Here in Tel Aviv, I go to the small center at the
bottom of the shuk (shuk azza). Here are a few things to ask for:

Item list: brackets, windowboxes, soil and plants.

Tip:Self watering systems can also cut out maintenance time but they are an added expense.

Rooftops are another option for the city gardner. I see this as an emerging “indoor- outdoor” trend. The method shown here is referred to as “container gardening“. This style of gardening is both practical and productive. The additional wall colors in the background add to the vitality of the garden here.

Environmental awarness is happening everywhere with more and more people joining the green revolution. This rooftop garden not only looks good, it helps divert rain water runoff from the city streets and recycles it for use in non drinking water functions for the building.

One good windowbox can lead to a million other gardens… so this spring, go green!

According to Globes, Keter is going green and offering to pay people in product coupons if they return their old Keter goods. They will then recycle the old products.

The Green Prophet has a rather insanely long article on greening your living space. The article is highly informative and helpful if you live somewhere big with a fireplace.

There were a few things listed that all of us can learn from (to find out what you have to read the post).

One thing it didn’t mention was old or used furniture. What a better way to recycle?

Busyboo is an amazing architecture and design blog by Vered Carmel who is also based in Israel. Today she had a post featuring the Nature Mill indoor composter. This is so cool.

I checked out their site, and they ship to Israel for $36.

Since the product costs over $50 (they range in price from $299 - $399) you will have to pay 15.5% tax. Even still, this is so worth it.