It's Jacaranda season again! Those purple blooms grabbing our attention across the Sydney landscape.
It's currently peak season for Jacaranda mimosifolia - those South-American natives that love the great southern land and many of us Aussie's love them right back.
Of course what we don't see with our own eyes as we travel around, generally gets pointed out to us like we are color blind or something. Almost every year without fail there is a piece on "Where the Best collections are" in local newspapers or even appearing on the 6 'Clock News - kind of like a floral "Best Christmas Light" display listing, so we can 'oooh' and 'ahhhhh' at them like we are watching New Years Eve fireworks.
Okay, fair enough, they are pleasing on the eye, but I personally would prefer to the 'flaming' red flowers of the Brachychiton but that's just one man's humble opinion (my humble opinion tends to lean towards Australian Natives). There's always a couple of things that irk me every year when the purple haze appears:
1. The Bloody Mess! - come on, most of you Horties out there will agree surely? The green lawns suddenly turned a sea of purple, cars parked on the street,unfortunately positioned under a Jacaranda that has spewed forth it's mauve delights.
2. Safety Concerns: The other thing I think about when I see Jacaranda's bloom is the potential slip hazard (won't somebody think of the children!). When it rains, the flowers turn to mush and on concrete paths and walkways this can make traction sometimes tricky. Ok, I know people should watch where they are walking but in this day and age public liability is zero and why not blame the trees? It's way too easy to get caught up in the social going's on via your smart phone to notice a potential slip hazard, even a brightly colored one (hell you could even be distracted by a fantastic blog about Jacarandas).
So it's really been a bit of a rant about my lack of fondness towards the humble Jacaranda? Okay you got me but it's really a love hate thing I swear.
Of course Jacaranda's are still a fairly popular tree in the landscape and I can see why: statuesque, long lasting and striking when in flower but at what price? I think it's best to admire somebody else's and think of the mess you don't have to deal with.
To conclude - I know I'll ruffle a few feathers but what the hey, there will always be those do gooders who say 'but we as humans cause more mess to the environment' to them I say - get off my lawn (it's the one without the purple flowers covering it).
