Purple plus in Parramatta Park!

 

Every jacaranda season seems like the best ever, but this one actually is the best ever.

And one of the best collections of them is in Parramatta park, towering above the not-yet-opened new cafe.

Red and purple

 

Jacarandas (the purples) and Illawarra flame trees (the reds) often got planted side by side, as they traditionally flowered at the same time - November in Sydney. 

I've noticed that in recent years the jacarandas were peaking a week or two earlier. This year though the two have synced rather well, and November it is again for them both.

These ones are in Westleigh.

Purple

 

We're at peak jacaranda season now in Sydney. Here's a fine Pennant Hills specimen.

More red

 

It's a good year for the Illawarra flame tree. They traditionally dazzle with their bright red flowers at the same time as the jacarandas do their purple thing. Often they've been planted side by side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Castle Hill's historic Heritage Park they've planted a whole lot of them. I was half hoping for a dazzling show today, but it looks like they'll need a few more years yet. Watch this space.

Peak Jacaranda comes late this year

Sydney's jacaranda month was traditionally November, and in recent years climate change seemed to have moved it forward a bit, to late October/early November.

This year it's gone the other way. We're into December, and Peak Jacaranda has only just arrived. In fact lots of seasonal markers have been a bit unhinged lately - presumably due to the unusually dry year we were having until recently.

I headed for McDougall Street in Kirribilli, where media reports told of uncommon hordes of tourists invading this particular purple patch. There are hundreds of streets around Sydney which are particularly blessed in this way, but for some reason it's McDougall Street that social media have singled out.

Sure enough, there was a small group there, doing a semi-serious photo shoot, with models in traditional oriental costumes. McDougall Street's jacarandas are in fact a bit past it this week, so I told them about all the other spots they could visit (ie just about any suburb to the north), where the show was still at its peak. Too late, they said. We're doing it here.

I went exploring then, and confirmed my advice was correct. North Sydney, Naremburn, Artarmon, Chatswood, West Pymble, Hornsby, Westleigh. Everywhere you look, it's still Peak Jacaranda.

Jacaranda time

It's Jacaranda time in Sydney again. Perhaps the most scenic time of the year. Mind you, it seems to be coming a little earlier each year. I used to associate jacarandas with November, maybe starting in late October. But this year the season was underway right from the beginning of October. Winter was unusually hot, and dry too. We've had very little rain for over three months.

You used to see a lot of Illawarra flame trees planted alongside jacarandas. They made quite a spectacular colour combination. The flame trees have a bit of a bad name these days, what with invasive roots and irritating seeds, and I'm not seeing so many. There again, maybe the jacarandas have got ahead of themselves, and the flame trees will flower after they've gone.