Iris Hill

A couple of weekends ago we made a quick visit to Shmurat Ha-Irusim or "Iris Hill", a small nature reserve located on the border between the cities of Ness Ziona and Rishon Letzion. I didn't even know of the existence of this little hill until someone posted about it on the wall of the Facebook group "Love Love Israel", but as soon as I read about it, I knew I had to go and see the irises. I even got Mister Handmade in Israel and the kids to come along too!

Iris Hill is home to the Iris artropurpurea or Coastal Iris. This rare sub-species of the Iris oncocyclus only grows in Israel, and only in Ness Ziona, Rishon Letzion and the city of Netanya. It  is considered an endangered plant and seems unable to thrive in other areas of the country. At this time of the year there are also huge bushes of Rotem (white broom) in bloom, but it was the large purple-brown irises that we were looking for and that we found, popping up in clumps among the dunes and grasses.

Iris Hill rises about 55 metres from sea level and accommodates the remains of one of the last gravel quarries along the Israeli coastal plane, of which there were once many. Now birds nest in the holes in the walls of the quarry, and on the eastern slope of the hill you can find several water troughs, probably left from the British Mandate period.

The site is small, about 50 acres in all, but it's a very pleasant place for a family picnic and flower walk. The irises, though now few and far between, since they bloom in mid-February, were wonderful to see. Just behind the reserve there is an abandoned citrus orchard, also currently in blossom. It smelt incredible!

In the summer Iris Hill is covered in thorny bushes. You will also find numerous insects and tortoises there. Many species of birds also inhabit the area.