Purple panic

Some weeks ago the hubby and I were arguing in a street about whether the tree in front of us was a flame or a jacaranda. A woman walking by heard us and stopped. She explained the difference between the trees and then told us all about the jacaranda and its significance here - it is commonly known as Purple Panic because all kids associate its flowering with the time that exams are approaching so a lot of young people might be quite conflicted seeing this tree come into bloom. Exam time, long gone for me, so I can only truly enjoy the splendour of their blooming all over the city, in my valley and and rather annoyingly in my pool. Still, looking for the silver lining here, I thought there was something rather special about the fallen flowers gathered in the corner so I took a picture of them for you. 

Along the river

In the pool 

From my balcony 

 Our very own jacaranda tree in the back garden 

They are natives of South America but do exceptionally well in slightly hot tropical or sub tropical climes and they clearly are at home here.Purple splendour and haze. Purple Haze of course a more familiar sound track of Jimi Hendrix's that some of us may still recall.