I've booked myself a bit over a week in Israel, staying in Jerusalem, starting right after Passover. Although I've been many times before, this will be my first springtime visit.

So --- I'd like some advice on where to go to see the hills and valleys in bloom. I've tentatively reserved a car for a day and would love some opinions about where to drive to see Israel in bloom. (I'm not so much interested in seeing historical sites this trip, as I've done that several times on other trips.) Will I be too late for the fields of kalaniot (red anemones)?

I hope someone can answer this question. I can give you some general information. I do a lot of research on finding out what will be in bloom for our trips.

You are going to be too late for the kalaniot. It blooms in February/March. But you may be in time for red poppies, clary sage and iris. Many of the native wildflowers will bloom in this time period so you may be able to see them but they won't be in big fields. You may be able to see chrysanthmum fields.

Here are some wildflower sites

Wildflowers of Israel - Go Israel Tourism site - There is a link at the bottom to another wildflower site which may include recent bloom reports.

Flowers of Israel - This site is botanical and will give you some information about flowers but it might not be useful for knowing where to go.

Another way to find out when and where to see flowers is to check picture sites. These will often include when the picture is taken so you get an idea of what is in bloom. The poster may or may not include details of where to see the bloom. But I found this search of Webshots of pictures taken in April in Israel has a lot of pictures of flowers and places. You have to sift through the first 20 pages to get an idea of places. Hopefully this will be useful.
Webshots taken in April

Thanks, Marta. At the very least, I will have lots of pretty photos to look at. And I am working my way through the Webshots site.

What a great idea for a trip Marian! I have not even thought of it, but I'm a lover of flowers myself! I'm going to consider your idea the next time I go somewhere

As Marta said, the kalaniot bloom in late February. The upper and western Galilee has gorgeous wild areas known for wildflowers. The Jordan River and Hula valley areas, as well as the Golan Heights should be good--there are several nature reserves I've been to with easy walking. I can look back through my files for specific names of places I went. Some areas of the Golan should only be walked with a guide.

On edit--Tel Dan, Nahal Ayoun (Ha-Tanur), Banias.

Thanks, Amy ---

I've been to those areas (sans guide), but not in the spring and not lately. (Actually, I was at Tel Dan in 1993 a day or so before they discovered the famous Bet David inscription there.)

I guess I'll just have to figure out once I get there exactly where I'm going to go, and with whom, if anyone.

(But planning is fun, no?)

The further north and east you go, more of the flowers will still be in bloom. This is a period when the heat waves start, so the amount of green and flowering is starting to wane.
So the best places (as suggested here already) would be the Golan Heights and the higher areas of the Eastern Galilee. A very nice drive is the road up to the Druze village of Majdel Shams. A narrow road with expanses of green and flowers, and walls of dense growth at times. The bloom should still be impressive up there.
Joe