From Kirribilli to Paddington, the city’s best locations revealed

The jacaranda blossoms – the purple trumpet-shaped flowers that act as Sydney’s harbingers of summer – wreak havoc on the normally quiet streets of Kirribilli on the lower North Shore each November.

Newlyweds in wedding attire spread across the road as flowers form a floral arch on the street, crowds of visitors raise selfie sticks in the air, and amateur photographers climb ladders set into the asphalt scale the MacDougall Street.

“It’s a bit like our version of cherry blossom season. [in Japan]said Zoe Baker, Mayor of North Sydney. “Weekends are like street parties.”

Long love affair with Sydney’s annual purple reign jacaranda Mimosifolia Native to the arid Andes of Argentina and Bolivia, this plant means the rest of the city is far from immune to its photogenic floral frenzy.

Crowds flocking to MacDougal Street mean the road is getting a lot of attention on social media platforms like Instagram, but the trees are in full bloom – even later than usual – From Kirribilli to Kirrawee.

Baker said: But in reality, it is social media that has fueled the spread of images.

“They are scattered all over Neutral Bay. Kirribilli are spectacular as they are clustered together on one street, but when you look at them all from the harbor they are like a mauve haze that stands out against the terrain. there is something.”

According to Baker, the reason so many trees were planted on the Gulf Peninsula is the subject of an urban legend in which a woman giving birth at North Sydney’s Mater Hospital was given jacaranda saplings.

“I have another story of a woman who was on the North Shore. [train] Line up the pods and scatter them out the window,” said Baker.

McDougall Street’s 30 mature jacarandas are a gift from the town of Grafton. They were planted in her 1930s as part of a beautification program initiated by the Admiralty of Kirribilli, Lady Gorey, who hoped her approach to her house would please visiting royalty.

This year, the North Sydney Council will close MacDougal Street on weekends for about six weeks until the trees are in bloom.The intensity of the crowds, and the length of time many people go to take pictures, has given residents in the past Complain to the council about the large number of tourists.

Baker said: [flowering season], is not hostile. This is all about taking the perfect picture, so it’s all about managing people’s safety. ”

The closure will keep parts of the street closed during daylight hours for about six weeks, allowing residents to access it by car.

A notice sent to residents said Transport for New South Wales said the change was the safest way to manage potential collisions between cars and tourists during the height of the flowering season. and notified the council. take a photo”.

South of Sydney, waves of suburban purple trees along the Port Hacking Peninsula are often Jacaranda Maternity Hospital run by Sister Eileen Haxton in Woolwear.

According to Oyster Bay resident Lee Walbank, who was born at the hospital in 1951, the breastfeeding sisters decided to give a tree to every mother of a baby born at the hospital.

“And that’s why there were so many jacaranda trees in the Sutherland Shire,” said Walbank.

“The story goes on, you could stand on [Miranda] Look at Westfield and outside to see all the trees planted in the house where the baby came from Jacaranda Hospital.

Walbank said he was nostalgic when it came to flowering season each November, reminding him why so many trees were planted.

“I love looking at them. It’s the most gorgeous color, and that color isn’t often seen in nature,” she said. “It’s really beautiful.”

Sydney’s fascination with trees was evident in the 1800s.

Loading

In 1868, Herald reported Jacaranda mimosifolia in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. This is believed to be the same large tree that blooms today, and he is one of the first and only places where one could see planted jacarandas. According to the story, it was “worth a 50-mile trip to see”.

That article states: [a jacaranda] …its beautiful rich lavender flowers and its bright feathery foliage make it a seasonal gem. ”

The Morning Edition newsletter is your guide to the day’s most important and interesting articles, analysis and insights. SIGN UP HERE.