The History of Those Beautiful Jacaranda Trees in Bloom Around L.A

History of Those Beautiful Jacaranda Trees in Bloom Around L.A.

Are you wondering where all these trees with beautiful purple flowers came from in LA?

Keep reading I’ll tell you how one woman changed the way LA looks with these Jacaranda Trees!

Jacaranda purple trees la 2

We owe these beautiful purple flowers tree to one amazing woman named Kate Sessions. Sessions was born in San Francisco in 1857. Fun fact, she’s also known as the “Mother of Balboa Park“! Sessions was educated in Oakland but moved with her family to Lake Merritt when she was just six. She attended University of California, Berkley with a degree in natural science. Sessions was always fascinated with all the different plants growing in all the exotic parts of the world. She started to bring seeds and plants from Europe, Mexico, and South America. At one point she became the most sought after landscape designer of her time.

Kate Sessions

1892, this was the year that Sessions would change California’s landscape forever! She leased out 32 acres of land owned by the city of San Diego (was known as City Park at the time). The field was a mess to say the least. She agreed to fix the situation by planting 100 new trees per year in the park and 300 additional trees per year elsewhere on public lands around the city of San Diego. That property was eventually renamed as what we know today as Balboa Park!

There a bronze statue at Balboa Park of sessions. If you are around San Diego..see if you can find it..

Sessions never married and live to the amazing age of 82, when she passed in San Diego on March 24, 1940.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgkDy_EDCye/

Entering the Hall of Fame – Kate Sessions

In 2006 Kate Sessions was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame from the Women’s Museum of California.

Purple flowers Tree California (Jacaranda Tree)

When spring is here, you’ll find the streets lined with these purple trees! Los Angeles has jacarandas as old as 100 years old. There is an estimated 20,000+ of them along public streets in the city. The city of Pasadena has a lot to see. You can view this as “L.A.’s Cherry Blossom” seeaon! The tree itself orginated from Brazil, Argentina and Boliva and can grow 25 to 40 feet tall and wide. They can also be found around some parts of orange county as well

purple flowers tree california jacarandas

Bloom time …

These purple flowers tree California bloom in …

May/June. Usually when the humidity is higher and daytime temperature don’t exceed the low 70s.

September: In the fall, there’s usually a secondary bloom. The leaves stay on the tree, mess these flowers less noticeable.

Where can you see Jacaranda Trees

Some of the many popular places for viewing the color include:

Paloma Street in Pasadena; Del Mar Boulevard in Pasadena

Stansbury Avenue in Sherman Oaks; Gothic Avenue in North Hills

North Whittier Drive in Beverly Hills; Index Street in Granada Hills

Los Robles Avenue in San Marino; and older residential streets in Hollywood

The Most Instagrammable Places in Los Angeles

1. Urban Light

Composed of 202 historic street lamps dating from the 1920s and 1930s, ‘Urban Light’ is a must-see sight when visiting Los Angeles. This large-scale artwork by Chris Burden became an instant landmark when it appeared outside LACMA in 2008.

5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles CA 90036

2. Hollywood Sign

For many, one of the first stops in La-La Land is the coveted Hollywood Sign. This Los Angeles landmark is situated on Mount Lee, in the Hollywood Hills area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Photos of these world-famous 45-foot-tall white letters are an absolute must during your time in LA.

Los Angeles, CA 90068

3. The Broad

If contemporary art is your thing, look no further than The Broad. Its dynamic collection features some of the best contemporary artists LA has to offer. The unique installations that encompass its walls offer the perfect photos to fuel your Instagram feed.

221 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

4. Griffith Observatory

Aside from being one of Southern California’s best-loved attractions, Griffith Observatory offers some of the finest views of LA from anywhere in the city. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, this LA icon offers endless photo opportunities. It’s a particularly good place to experiment with different angles.

2800 E. Observatory Road
Los Angeles CA 90027

5. Santa Monica Pier

You know you’ve arrived in Santa Monica as soon as you spot the eye-catching Ferris wheel at the end of the pier, a popular place that attracts visitors from far and wide. When shot against a beautiful blue backdrop of sky and ocean, pictures of the pier’s colourful attractions will give your photos plenty of punch with little need for photo editing.

200 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica CA 90401

6. Heritage Square Museum

Heritage Square Museum is a living history and open-air architecture museum located beside the Arroyo Seco Parkway in the Montecito Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southern Arroyo Seco area.

3800 Homer St.
Los Angeles, CA 90031

7. Korean Friendship Bell

The Korean Bell of Friendship is a massive bronze bell housed in a stone pavilion in Angel’s Gate Park, in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. 

3601 S Gaffey St
San Pedro, CA 90731

8. Union Station

Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. Union Station is located on the original site of the Tongva village of Yaanga, which was “believed to have been the largest of the Tongva villages.”

800 N Alameda St
Los Angeles, CA 900121

9. Bradbury Building

The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork.

304 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013

10. Old Los Angeles Zoo

Founded in 1912, this now-abandoned zoo offers past enclosure ruins, picnic space & hiking trails.

4801 Griffith Park Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90027

11. Lost Spirits Distillery

Lost Spirits Distillery – A creative California Distillery producing dense aromatic spirits designed to challenge even the most jaded palates.

1200 E 5th St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

12. Secret Swing Angels Point

Elysian Park is a hidden gem and an underrated park. The secret swing is a perfect spot to take pictures

Secret….
Los Angeles, CA 90031

13. Venice Canals

The Venice Canal Historic District is a district in the Venice section of Los Angeles, California. The district is noteworthy for its man-made canals built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney as part of his Venice of America plan.


Venice, CA 90027

14. Griffith Observatory

The Griffith Observatory is a facility in Los Angeles, California, sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.

2800 E Observatory Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90027

15. Greystone Mansion

The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Trousdale Estates of Beverly Hills, California, United States.

905 Loma Vista Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

16. Angels Flight Railway

Angels Flight is a landmark 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, Olivet and Sinai, running in opposite directions on a shared cable, on the 298 feet long inclined railway.

350 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90071

17. The Last Bookstore

Airy book & record store offering new & used items in a multilevel space adorned with local art.

453 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

18. The Getty

The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles.

1200 Getty Center Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90049

19. OUE Skyspace LA

Open-air observation deck providing 360-degree views of the city & a unique glass slide.

633 W 5th St #840
Los Angeles, CA 90071

20. Micheltorena Stairs

Micheltorena Stairs “A set of 205 steps from top to bottom in the heart of Silverlake area between Silverlake Blvd & Winslow Drive. 

3400 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026