I’ve noticed that those vintage Flowers of Israel posters are having a bit of a moment.
So, I asked ChatGPT to create a botanical guide in the same style - but featuring plant-based motifs from The Spoon and the Sea.
It did surprisingly well (apart from a rogue misspelling of “Eucalyptus”), and I dropped the result into a Canva mockup. I especially liked that it took the initiative to include scientific names - though full disclaimer: I have no idea if they’re accurate 😂.
Now, allow me to geek out for a moment about the eucalyptus leaves.
There’s very little in Israel that reminds me of life in Australia, except for eucalyptus trees. Some early readers even assumed I’d made a botanical error by including them in the novel.
But eucalyptus trees, though native to Australia, have a long history in this region. They were brought to Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily to help drain swampland — especially in mosquito-infested areas where malaria was a serious threat.
It’s a tree not originally from the land, yet deeply tied to its restoration and survival.
In that way, the eucalyptus becomes a quiet metaphor in the book — for diaspora, adaptation, and healing. And for finding rootedness in unexpected soil.