Books and Inspiration

Mar 11
6 min read

Part of my knowledge and inspiration is drawn from the world of written content. In this post, I will share several books that I highly recommend for those interested in this field. These include botanical texts, art books with a floral orientation, and specialized books on flower pressing, with an emphasis on technique.

Israel Florilegium

Written by: Yadin Roman (Editor of Eretz veTeva), and Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir (Scientific Director of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens).

Illustrations by: Mary Grierson and Heather Wood.

This is a magnificent album of wildflower illustrations that combines three observational layers: the botanical-scientific, the cultural, and the artistic.

In the 1970s, the Nature Reserves Authority (now the INPA) reached out to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, to collaborate with professional botanical illustrators. This brought Mary Grierson and Heather Wood to Israel, where they created approximately 400 breathtaking botanical illustrations. They joined field expeditions with Authority personnel to sketch and document plants across the country. Some of these illustrations were considered lost and were rediscovered only two years ago in the Authority's archives.

Israel Florilegium

This book is a beautiful album presenting 220 of their paintings, accompanied by botanical descriptions and references to the sources and traditions associated with them. It is a journey through the country's flora, from Mount Hermon to the Negev.

The recruitment of these two British illustrators occurred during an extensive public campaign by the Nature Reserves Authority to save wildflowers. The Wildflower Protection Law was approved on August 7, 1963. To support the spirit of the law and integrate it into public consciousness, posters were created featuring illustrations by Bracha Avigad. When she declined further commissions, the Authority turned to the British illustrators, and their work was transformed into posters designed by Danny Kerman.

The exhibition "There are Flowers" (Yesh Prachim), currently on display at the National Library of Israel (until May 2026), features some of Wood and Grierson’s illustrations alongside posters from that original conservation campaign. The book itself is a spectacular work—an artistic object that appeals to botanical illustration enthusiasts and those seeking to expand their knowledge alike.

Jerusalem Dried Flower Albums / Ami Zehavi

This unique book is a historical and cultural journey through 19th-century dried flower albums, which Ami Zehavi researched for over 12 years. His quest began in Hungary when he entered an antique bookstore and asked for a book from the "Holy Land." The clerk handed him a small volume bound in olive wood. Between its pages, separated by thin silk tissues, were beautiful and intricate compositions delicately assembled using pressed leaves, flowers, and wild plants from the Land of Israel.

Jerusalem Dried Flower Albums / Ami Zehavi

Zehavi, a retiree, became a passionate collector of these albums and began investigating the stories behind them. What started as the purchase of a single souvenir gradually evolved into an impressive and growing collection. His collection turned into an in-depth study that expanded across borders. The information he gathered came from collectors in Israel and abroad, auction sites, and, of course, the existing collections at the National Library in Jerusalem.

In his book, Zehavi shares his efforts to identify the publishers—who mostly published anonymously—and traces the stories of the women creators within various communities. He describes the days of the waning Ottoman rule and the improvement of roads and pilgrim movement, noting albums with both Christian and Jewish affiliations. Through his research, Zehavi began cataloging the albums by year, manufacturer, workshop, and distributor, creating a connection between flora, tradition, the natural landscape, evolving tourism, and souvenirs. Browsing this book leaves one in awe of the sheer number of albums preserved for over 150 years.

The Modern Flower Press- Capturing the beauty of nature

Melissa Richardson, Amy Fielding

This is a beautiful book that serves as a guide to the traditional flower pressing technique. It is both a practical tool and a source of design inspiration, offering artistic ways to integrate dried flowers onto various working surfaces. The book presents various selections of recommended flowers and leaves for pressing, showcasing numerous diverse outcomes with stunning visual examples of both the process and the result. It is a practical and aesthetic book for anyone interested in beginning their journey in flower pressing and botanical art.

The Modern Flower Press- Capturing the beauty of nature

Wild Plants of Palestine in Drawings (Plates 51-100 / 101-150)

Edited by Michael Zohary and Naomi Feinbrun | Illustrations by Ruth Koppel

These two special books were given to me as a gift. They belonged to the late Gertrude (Truda) Haic, who worked in the 1960s at the Herbarium at Givat Ram in Jerusalem. She was responsible for preparing documentation sheets for the herbarium and worked closely with botanist Naomi Feinbrun and illustrator Ruth Koppel.

Wild Plants of Palestine in Drawings (Plates 51-100 / 101-150)

"Wild Plants of Palestine in Drawings" was published in 1952 as a sequel to the first series printed in 1949. It contains stunning black-and-white illustrations by Ruth Koppel of wild flora from the Jerusalem area, along with a few color illustrations.

More about the relationship between these two women can be learned at the "There are Flowers" exhibition at the National Library of Israel (through May 2026), where correspondences and annotations on the sketches are revealed, showcasing the collaboration between Naomi Feinbrun’s scientific botanical world and Ruth Koppel’s illustrations.

The beginning of the book provides a scientific/botanical breakdown of each flower—its distribution, growth period, and botanical family. These explanations are followed by exquisite illustrations titled with the flower's scientific name. Ruth Koppel, born in Germany, chose to focus on the flora of Israel with a conscious desire to assist in the formation of a Hebrew identity through scientific accompaniment.

Larry Abramson – Botany

An artist's book published in 2016 in conjunction with the exhibition "Larry Abramson: Botany" at the Jerusalem Print Workshop; curated by Irena Gordon.

The book is based on two series of prints centered on botanical imagery. In both series, Abramson printed the silhouettes using silkscreen at the Jerusalem Print Workshop. The first series, from 2012, Flora of the Land of Israel (after Ruth Koppel), was presented as part of the exhibition "1967," a solo show at the Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv. The second, from 2014, Das kleine Blumenbuch / After Rudolf Koch, was exhibited at Circle 1 Gallery, Berlin.

Larry Abramson – Botany

Larry Abramson connects to Israeli botany through a critical lens. In a review of the works featured in the book, Uzi Zur wrote: "He flattens and presses the layers of botany, art, and ideology into a kind of geology and archaeology of this place, with its beauty, its injustices, and its pains..." (Haaretz, August 26, 2016).

The book compiles works from the 2016 exhibition. In the 2014 series, Abramson covered 33 pages of the Israel Hayom newspaper from the days of Operation Protective Edge with a thin layer of paint; upon this stratification, he silkscreened black silhouettes of German wild plants. These images were taken from the pocketbook Das kleine Blumenbuch, featuring illustrations by Rudolf Koch from 1933.

In the 2012 series, Abramson created 50 works covering pages of Haaretz newspaper from the days of the Six-Day War, printing a black silhouette of an Israeli wild plant on each. In some, the layer of obituary notices from the newspaper remains visible. These silhouettes were taken from the 1949 book by Ruth Koppel and Naomi Feinbrun. Botany, as part of the classification and cataloging systems that intensified in the 19th century, served as a mechanism for constructing modern national identities. Abramson identifies this link in both series. This unique book offers a different perspective on the integration of botany as a means of critical artistic expression.

Flora Palaestina / Nurit Gur Lavy (Karni)

The artist's book collects a selection of her works dedicated to painting the flowers and flora of Israel. This is not a scientific text, but rather a book that offers an observation of vegetation through the artist's eyes. In Gur Lavy’s floral paintings, there is both an ethical and aesthetic stance. The book presents a selection of illustrations, drawings, and etchings.

While botanical illustration was once harnessed for the formation of Hebrew identity through scientific accompaniment, this book provides an opportunity to see artistic expression through the observation of plants, offering interpretation and articulation with an artistic voice.