A House with a Jacaranda Treeš”
Sydney at the moment is blazing with purple fire, yes, the jacaranda tree is in full bloom!
jacaranda mimosifoliaāāāthe blue jacaranda.
Purple has been my favourite colour, for ever, any way!
So naturally, this beautiful purple flowering tree, which casts its š green leaves in Spring, in Australia, by the end of October, and blossoms in early November, sprouting into colour š overnight! would be a favourite too!
I can never forget my first jacaranda tree in Australia, when I saw this magnificent tree growing at the back of the rented apartment where we had moved right after arriving in Australia. Not knowing what this big green tree was, till overnight it burst into colour purple, and I fell in love, with it!
And since then, I had wanted a house with this beautiful, magnificent tree.
I remember, years ago, one evening when I got back to my car from the city, it was covered in purple colour. Those were the pre mobile days, and I didnāt have a camera handy, so, to capture its beauty, not having any other means, I just scooped up a few handfuls of these purple blossoms and put them in my car, some I hid in my shirt, and some in my scarf.
I went home and stood in the middle of our sitting room and showered the petals on the floor, my daughter and our little dog went berserk.
āIt is raining purple; it is raining purpleā! WE sang and laughed and laughed.
Later on, we had to clean the mess, but we had such fun.
And the fragrance was divine!
That was the time, when my daughter was a little girl, and now, her daughter is the same age!
Jacaranda keeps giving us the gift of its beauty and fragrance, in abundance, and just for free.
I never got my heartās wish fulfilled, couldnāt buy a house with a jacaranda, and no matter what we did, we couldnāt grow a jacaranda in our house.
But have always enjoyed its beauty!
As, when the time comes, no one can hide the beauty of this tree, it is everywhere in most streets, growing all around, wherever, you look, there is the purple fire shining from somewhere, amid, green foliage
You just canāt miss it, at this time of the year.
In the streets of most suburbs as well as in the city, come November, there are jacaranda trees blooming somewhere, close by, just on the corner of that street, right behind that house, on the side of the car park, next to the railway station.
Originating from South America, Jacaranda means fragrant and represents wisdom, rebirth, and good luck. It grows in most warm-weather countries.
And in Sydney and other places in Australia, there are streets named after this tree, where rows and rows of these beautiful trees have been planted, and they all come in full bloom, together, and people go there specially to see the beauty of these purple laden trees, shedding petals like silent rain, creating a purple carpet on the footpaths.
Recently, when I was coming back from an overseas trip to Sydney, I took a few pictures from the aeroplane window and was thrilled to see a row of purple haze, shining through, hidden in between the rooftops of buildings.
The reason for so many jacaranda trees in Sydney could be the fact that once upon a time, in some suburbs of Sydney, new mothers were gifted Jacaranda trees, when they left hospital to go home, with their newly Borns.
For every child, a sapling, which means rows and rows of these trees must have been planted, which are now jutting out of their backyards, waving at the passer-by and other houses, telling them their stories, the history of the house, the family, the age of the children, who grew up alongside their own jacaranda trees!
Many of those trees, however, have been cut, to make room for new developments.
But in some places, these trees have added to their tourist attraction.
The image below (credit Daily Telegraph) is from Grafton, a place 7 hours' drive from Sydney. It shows the magnificence of jacaranda trees all growing in one street. Famous for jacaranda trees, Grafton has an annual jacaranda festival in November. I have not been to this place but would love to, one day!
There are so many other beautiful trees in the world, some of them are just beautiful to look at, like cedars, and pine trees, some are colourful, like cherry blossom, maple, wattle, and jacaranda, some are sacred trees, such as Banayan tree, and some have medicinal qualities, like pine, neem, and eucalyptus.
Jacaranda, with its short span of life in which it paints the whole town purple, every year, at this time of the year, remains my favourite tree!
At this time of the year!
Each year, it blooms to tell us, summer is coming, holidays are here, and everything is alright with the world!
Some places where jacaranda is in full bloom at the moment.
The eight best places to see jacarandas in Sydney and NSW (timeout.com)
This post is in response to Dr. Preeti Singhās Nature prompt about trees in Reciprocal, what a great place to write and read about how nature inspires us.
I loved Dr. Fatima Imamās article about her memories of spending time under the canopy of her favourite trees.
I enjoyed reading William J Spirdioneās tribute to a Pine Tree, and old tree, still holding high, its green head majestically.
The Old Pine Tree Still Stands Tall | by William J Spirdione | Reciprocal | Dec, 2022 | Medium
Thanks, Dr. Preeti Singh, Yana Bostongirl, for your amazing editing, and Sahil Patel for the amazing publication such as Reciprocal!
