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Create paradise with lush flora grown since beginning of time

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/14966/full/14966/create-paradise-with-lush-flora-grown-since-beginning-of-time/ Create paradise with lush flora grown since beginning of time Friday, January 26, 2001 | by ELAINE LAPORTE She didn't have a thing to wear, but no one noticed. Wedding finery was optional in the Garden of Eden. But with all that flora to choose from, what do you suppose the world's first bride carried on her matrimonial day? You're thinking fig leaves, aren't you? Or maybe fig flowers? Go with the leaves. Flowers of the Ficus genus aren't showy. Today's ornamental figs are grown for foliage. You have them in your house: that Ficus benjamina languishing between the window and the heating vent, always dropping leaves, or the Ficus elastica, the tree from which we get rubber tires. Even the lobed leaves of the edible Ficus carica—resembling the hands of Mickey Mouse—display a rich green color. The fruit that pairs so nicely with marscapone is generally regarded as native to southwestern Asia or Syria. In early times it was cultivated throughout the Holy Land. "The common fig, Ficus carica, is unquestionably one of the most important plants of the Bible, in which it is mentioned no less than 57 times," write Harold N. and Alma L. Moldenke in their book "Plants of the Bible." It is the first plant to appear in the Scriptures: "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Genesis 3:7). That the fig also was the forbidden fruit—the "apple" of the "tree of knowledge" that Eve ate and gave to Adam—is reported by the Moldenkes as legendary but unlikely. "The fruit of the fig is said to be poisonous for a short time before ripening, but when ripe the poisonous principle disappears and is replaced by sugar," they write. The identity of the apple has perplexed scholars for years. According to the authors, the Hebrew word used is tapuach. "The apple tree of the Scriptures was a tree which afforded a pleasant shade. Its fruit was enticing to the sight, sweet to the taste, imparting fragrance, with restorative properties, and of a golden color, borne amid silvery leaves," they say. Many scholars, they continue, have argued in favor of the common apple, Malus pumila. But most botanists agree that it is not native to the Holy Land. It was only comparatively recently that the "poor wild fruits of the common apple have been so improved by selection and cultivation as to bring them to a form which would fit the description in the Biblical quotations," the Moldenkes write. Other writers have supposed the "apples of gold" were oranges, Citrus sinensis. But the fruit is native to China. The Seville orange, Citrus vulgaris, also suggested by some, is a native of eastern India, not introduced into the Holy Land until 1000 C.E., the authors add. Other plants that don't meet the criteria include the citron, Citrus medica and the quince, Cydonia oblonga. Neither is "sweet to the taste." The Moldenkes conclude the only fruit that meets all the requirements is the apricot, Prunus armeniaca. With the exception of the fig, it is the most abundant in the Holy Land, referring to Canon Tristam's "Natural History of the Bible." Tristam maintains the plant, originally from Armenia, was introduced to the Holy Land around the time of Noah (about 2950 BCE). "The apricot is a round-headed, reddish-barked tree growing to 30 feet tall," write the Moldenkes. Its leaves are even somewhat heart-shaped, providing Eve with a romantic reason to carry its branches in her bouquet—unless she chose them for their pinkish or nearly white flowers that appear before the foliage. If you like the symbolism of apricot branches, you can have them for your wedding, provided you marry soon. Commercial growers say apricots bloom for a short period in early spring, which translates to sometime in January or February here on the West Coast. Orchard Nursery and Florist in Lafayette stocks several varieties of bare root apricots now, including 'Floragold' and 'Blenheim,' which can grow anywhere in the Bay Area. Plant one for a son or daughter who may tie the knot a few years down the road. Sunnyvale florist Tova Matatyaou advises using apricot branches in a vase to grace the bimah or reception table, rather than carrying them in a bouquet. "They are not very common," she says. Instead, she recommends gerberas, tulips, roses or carnations in an apricot color. If you'd like to repeat the theme of the "golden apples" in a monochromatic scheme, echo the hue in bridesmaids' dresses, tablecloths and balloons. "If you want to complement it with more of a cool color, I would go with all kinds of shades of purple and lavender," says Matatyaou, who's been in the business for 12 years. Visualize the color wheel, the florist suggests, and you'll see how "orange and blue are opposites." Blue is not an easy color for a florist to supply in a bouquet. Some that are obtainable are blue iris (Iris spp. 'Prof. Blaauw'), cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) and hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). "You can bring in blue color by spraying baby's breath or [using blue] ribbon," Matatyaou suggests. Also the blue delphinium (Consolida ambigua), whose trumpet-shaped flowers bloom in sunny Bay Area gardens, is available to florists year-round. Matatyaou's son Asaf Matatyaou married Amy Isaak from San Mateo last summer. She says a garden reception in Israel featured blue delphiniums with sunflowers. If you prefer figs in your Garden of Eden wedding, go ahead and ask your florist to spike some in among the flowers. Matatyaou thinks they would look good adorning a buffet table or festooning a chuppah.

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