My time at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens by Anna Lagerstrom (Intern 2025-26)

It is hard to put into words all that I experienced and learned at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens this year, but I will give it a try.

When I first came, I started out working in the tropical conservatory because of my interest in tropical plants. The experience was amazing but also tough, having to adapt to a new culture, physical work in very hot weather, new people and a new rhythm of life. I learned a lot about the maintenance of an indoor garden, from establishment to maintenance to documentation of all the plants.

With this I also faced the many challenges that come with an indoor garden like lower-than-ideal light conditions or lack of wind which can lead to thinner and weaker tree stems.

It was a magical experience watching the conservatory change shape over the months in response to the seasons and the care that was given to it.

Another valuable experience was to be exposed to the sheer quantity of different plants that are growing in the Botanical Gardens. There are so many plants in the conservatory that I had never even heard about before, and it was exciting to learn their names, botany and ecology where I could.I spent the last part of my internship in the nursery where I helped Maya, the head of the nursery, with all kinds of things: from cleaning the floors to executing my own propagation projects on all types of interesting plants. This was a very fun and exciting time, and I realised that I really enjoy the propagation of plants, maybe more than the maintenance and care of an established garden.

I was, once again, exposed to many new plants and many Israeli plants which was very interesting for me. I learned a lot about plants from all over the world and got to see how they behaved and reacted in response to the way we propagated them and cared for them. 

I was privileged to see many parts of the country and its natural and wild sites during the tours we went on with the Gardens. Even though many of the tours were in Hebrew and I didn’t understand much of the explanations, it was still a unique experience to see Israeli flora in the wild, a flora that is wildly different from what I’m used to in Europe. It was very interesting to see all the mechanisms that the plants developed to be able to withstand the dry and hot conditions in this climate.

Other than my experience in the Gardens themselves, my experience in Israel and Jerusalem has been absolutely life-changing for me. This nation is incredible and unlike any other. Even though I had already visited when I was 12 years old, coming back and actually living here gave me a whole new perspective. I got to live in the ancient rhythm of the bible, lay my hands on the old fundaments of the city and see how people live here in modern times.

Israel is an incredibly diverse nation with people from all over the world. I made close friends from more nations than I can count on one hand, and this has been very special for me. I also got to build friendships with locals and learn about- and embrace Judaism and the Jewish roots to my faith, which was very special for me as a Christian who loves Israel. I got to experience the highs of the fall feasts, but also the deep lows of the war.

Despite the ups and downs, I would not trade this experience for anything, and it is something that I will always carry with me through my life. I am incredibly grateful to the Friends and the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens for granting me this opportunity and hope that many more will be able to come and have this experience in the future.