Jacaranda Season 2023 in Johannesburg – PHOTOS
One of the many things that stir memories and remind South Africans of home – it’s Jacaranda time! TY Yoschini Govender…
It’s that time of the year when the streets of Johannesburg, Pretoria and other parts of South Africa are transformed into a passionate splash of purple as Jacaranda trees bloom… and exams loom! The spectacular photos on this page were taken this weekend in Randburg and Ferndale (Joburg) by YOSCHINI GOVENDER 
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Apart from the Protea, there’s probably no other plant that evokes as much emotion and memories in a South African abroad as the sight of a Jacaranda tree in full bloom… and we get to see plenty around the world, from Brazil (from which SA’s Jacarandas were first imported) to Australia, the French Riviera to California. But none ever seem as special as those from back home…
In fact, despite the Jacaranda being non-indigenous, the government has allowed the trees to remain (although it is forbidden to plant new ones).
The jacaranda was first imported from Brazil in about 1829. South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela wrote about the iconic jacarandas in Pretoria in his book ‘Long Walk to Freedom’.
He said that during the Treason Trial, he and the others on trial were allowed to eat lunch in a nearby garden, and that “those moments under the shade of the jacaranda trees on the vicarage lawn were the most pleasant of the trial.”
And again, during his inauguration speech in May 1994, Mandela said “To my compatriots, I have no hesitation in saying that each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld.”
Of course the jacaranda, which has a slight smell rather than a strong perfume, doesn’t just belong in Joburg and Pretoria. Its bright purple petals bring an annual splash of colour to avenues from Johannesburg to Pietermaritzburg, Paarl and Durban… and even Israel, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Australia, the USA (particularly LA) and Portugal.
For tourists from Japan, who love their own cherry trees so much, the Jacarandas in South Africa are for some more of a drawcard and more famous than Table Mountain! Last week the Dutch royal couple also enjoyed a photo shoot in Pretoria amongst the Jacaranda trees, with photos that went viral around the world. If you’re in South Africa – head to Johannesburg and Pretoria now for your own Instagrammable photo shoot! And if you’re abroad, book to visit SA in the second half of October next year, which is the time of year that the trees usually bloom.
