Jerusalem Gardeners Get New Plough!

The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group remains most grateful to The Worshipful Company of Gardeners for its support of our Jerusalem Hospital’s famous garden over the years. On the occasion of the Company’s most recent award to the Hospital Group in favour of a ploughing machine for Jerusalem, we thought we’d write up a short piece on the men who make the Jerusalem garden happen.

Jerusalem Climate and Vegetation

The city of Jerusalem is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers, and mild, wet winters. Snow flurries usually occur once or twice a winter, with heavier – though short-lived – snowfall every three to four years. January is the coldest month of the year, with an average temperature of 9.1 °C (48.4 °F); July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of 24.2 °C (75.6 °F), and the summer months are usually rainless. The average annual precipitation is around 550 mm (22 in), with rain occurring almost entirely between October and May. Jerusalem has nearly 3,400 annual sunshine hours.

Lying on the watershed between the relatively rainy Hare Yehuda (Hills of Judaea) and the dry Judaean desert, Jerusalem has both Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian vegetation. The various red and brown Mediterranean soils, formed by the different types of limestone chalk covering the hills, support as many as 1,000 plant species. In the spring, masses of wildflowers proliferate on slopes and wastelands.

Hospital Garden and Gardeners’ Responsibilities

Our two current horticulturists, Sa’ed Mubbayed and Ahmad Abbassi, work hard all year-round ensuring that the Jerusalem garden continues to provide the salutary environment so enjoyed by patients, staff and visitors alike.

Immediately striking upon entering the hospital grounds are the rose bushes and fruit trees with which Sa’ed and Ahmad have populated the gardens. There is also a vast area of green lawn, measuring 10,000 m².

The citrus trees cultivated by Sa’ed and Ahmad yield a wonderful crop of oranges and lemons that are used in the hospital kitchen – as are our olives, which we press into oil.

The two men’s main responsibilities include mowing and watering the lawn, cultivating the flora and ensuring that they are kept free of weeds, as well as making sure that the paths are kept clear of leaves and that the hospital compound is clean and tidy. There is also a small garden in the hospital’s famous cloister area, which needs to be looked after.

There is a tennis court that must be kept clear of leaves and whose equipment must be maintained. Finally, the men ensure that the garden and its tools are correctly used and that any damage that might arise is reported.

The six months from January to June are the men’s busiest. Says Ahmad, “We prune all plants; clean the garden, flowers and rose beds… We also prune 16,000 m² of climbing trees around the hospital… We spray the plants with pesticides and apply manure to the soil… Plough and prepare the soil for planting, and this consumes most of our time, given the size of the garden.”

In April, “We plant seeds in our nursery, then transfer them to the garden when they’re ready.” And in the summer months, the lawn is mown every week.

In September, the planting of the spring seeds must be done. These are then transferred to the nylon-covered nursery for the winter months. From the trees, all the dry wood is cut and used as firewood in the CEO’s house on the compound over the winter. During the winter months, the men keep the garden clean and tidy.

So, you see, all year round, Sa’ed Mubbayed and Ahmad Abbassi ensure that the Jerusalem Hospital’s grounds are an oasis of beauty and an incentive to our patients to take care of their eyes