Here in Gauteng, the annual Jacaranda blooming season is in full swing — and once again, our streets are carpeted in violet.

Although these magnificent trees aren’t native to South Africa, they’ve become inseparable from our sense of place. Pretoria alone boasts more than 60 000 Jacarandas, earning it the nickname “The Jacaranda City.” But as HOT 1027 News’s Al Prodgers discovered, their roots trace back to a single front yard.

It all began at 146 Celliers Street in Sunnyside in 1888, when J.D. Celliers planted two tiny trees imported from Brazil. Incredibly, one of them still stands today — a living relic of that moment more than a century ago.

Soon after, two city planners — James Clarke and Frank Jameson — took the idea further. Both affectionately nicknamed “Jacaranda Jim,” they were responsible for lining Pretoria’s streets with thousands of the purple-flowering trees. Ironically, Clarke’s grave has been lost to history, and Jameson was mistakenly buried under a Stinkwood tree instead of a Jacaranda.

Listen to the report by Al Prodgers here:

Not all of Pretoria’s Jacarandas are purple, though. Down Herbert Baker Street in Groenkloof, you’ll find a rare white variety that doesn’t produce seeds and must be propagated from cuttings.

And with lifespans reaching 200 years, these trees will continue to turn Gauteng violet for generations to come.

So the next time you look up at the purple canopy, remember — one man’s backyard planting grew into a citywide spectacle, as told by Al Prodgers for HOT 1027 News.

References

• The Heritage Portal – The History of Jacaranda Trees in Pretoria

• 2 Summers – Return to the White Jacaranda Trees of Herbert Baker Street

• Wits University – Jacarandas Then and Now

• Good Things Guy – Pretoria Is Turning Purple Again!