Saturday 21 October 2017

A White Jacaranda

Trees are the reason I love our particular little pocket of suburbia so much. The tall eucalypts of the state forest along the ridge and beyond, the paperbarks along the little creek, the native trees in so many of the gardens and the flowering of the Jacarandas in Spring. For me, it's the trees here that are the backdrop of my everyday world.

At the moment, when I look out beyond our verandah, I can see the beautiful purple highlights of the Jacaranda trees in bloom. This purple blossoming is synonymous with Spring in my city but, on a recent and rather hilly walk, I discovered a different Jacaranda, in a street not far from home...

Clusters of beautiful white Jacaranda flowers.

Instead of a blooming halo of purple blossoms, this young Jacaranda was covered in hundreds of pure white flowers. Oh, my! Looking up through its branches, to the sunny sky above, the white of its flowers set against the perfect blue Spring-sky background, was just gorgeous!


White blossoms and a blue sky. Sigh!

I could've laid down, right there on that footpath, for hours and happily looked up at those flowers and the wispy clouds drifting by. Instead, I've been back to visit it several times now, just to stand underneath it and look up!

Spring flowers adorn young branches.

Sometimes, the world offers up that which is so simple yet is so very beautiful. 

Meg

p.s.  A Little History...

The very first Jacaranda grown in Australia was planted in my city's Botanic Gardens back in 1864. It was a purple flowering variety and it grew & bloomed until it was knocked down in a cyclone in 1980. It is thought that it is this particular Jacaranda that features in the very popular painting, Under the Jacaranda, by the artist Godfrey Rivers. The painting hangs in the Queensland Art Gallery. I am thinking of taking a trip in to the gallery to see it. I wonder if there will be any Jacaranda flowers sprinkled on the floor underneath it when I visit?













10 comments:

  1. My first thought when I glimpsed that photo were your thoughts exactly. White flowers with the blue sky. Both the white and blue are perfect, bright and yep I could stare at that view too. Really noticing these things so much more these days and appreciating the simple. It's all around us.
    Kylie

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    1. I just thought it was so beautiful, Kylie. I love blue, it is my favourite colour and white looks so crisp with a blue background. You would have much to find on your walks too. Meg:)

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  2. beautiful, never seen or heard of a white variety, Jacanda has me visualising purple blooms only.
    interesting history there too, shame the tree was lost though.
    thanx for sharing

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    1. I had to look twice, Selina, when I saw it because I'd never thought Jacarandas could be white either! It's a lovely tree. Meg:)

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  3. I didn't know there was white Jacaranda Trees....love the history of the tree....someone asked me the other day if they were Australian and I said I think so but I didn't know....might have to pinch your little paragraph on the history...very interesting.

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    1. Jacarandas come from Brazil, Kathy. If you do a search for Jacarandas on Burke's Backyard website, you'll find more information there too. Meg:)

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  4. I love the Jacarandas. We have them here, as well. I have never seen a white one. Your photos of it are beautiful.

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    1. This white flowering variety was such a lovely find! I think my favourite thing about Jacarandas is how those hundreds upon thousands of flowers fall like flowery rain and settle like carpet underneath. Just so beautiful! Meg:)

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  5. They are really beautiful blossoms.

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