Take a tour of one of the world's largest rock gardens

At the northern edge of Tel Aviv, Israel, sits a slice of pastoral life that is as green as the city is white. Yarkon Park is a gem of an urban playground, a great open space where many of the city's inhabitants picnic or enjoy a leisurely stroll.

Within the park are several amusements, including a climbing wall, tennis and basketball courts, a tropical forest and perhaps the most magnificent attraction of all, a rock garden, one of the largest of its kind in the world. In this 10-acre enclosure you’ll find rocks interspersed with some 3,500 species of plants, including over six acres of cacti, many of them beautifully flowering. From The Grapevine recently made a visit.

This collection of rocks represents a cross-section of the various types in the garden from around the world.

Chalk rock mixes with nari, a soft stone found in and around Jerusalem.

A pile of rock salt sits at the center of a path that leads to a view of the park's lake.

Rock salt is typically formed by the evaporation of salty water (such as sea water).

Phosphorite such as this is found mainly in Israel, Western Europe, Northern Africa and the United States.

A path on the southern edge of the garden is lined with rocks of various shapes, sizes and colors.

These rocks were so large, they were given their own section of the garden.

The cactus garden sits on some 6 acres. Paths wind through the various patches of cacti.

It may look like a watermelon patch, but these are actually round cacti, present throughout the cactus garden. These cacti had already begun to flower.

The collection of cacti are beautiful, but it's best to keep a distance lest they literally become a thorn in your side.