One year after Riverside’s largest fire, part one of this two-part series looks at what happened—and how the city is working to prevent it from happening again.
I first noticed the purple blooms as I drove down Palm Avenue toward Downtown from the Wood Streets. As the road descends into the Tequesquite Arroyo, the elevated vantage point allows a panoramic perspective of purple jacarandas scattered throughout the neighborhoods below Mt. Rubidoux. It happens overnight—one day the canopies are green, then bursts of purple adorn the Downtown canopy.
The jacaranda bloom represents just one act in Riverside's year-round flowering tree symphony. The city's warm, subtropical climate supports an impressive variety of blooming species throughout the seasons, from February's fragrant orange blossoms and the magnolia's waxy white flowers to the vibrant crape myrtles, delicate orchid trees and the distinctive pink blooms of silk floss trees that keep us in the color almost year-round.
The jacaranda's journey to Riverside mirrors its global spread from Brazil and Argentina to cities worldwide. Originally planted as exotic ornamentals in the early-to-mid 20th century, these hardy trees may not be as integral to Riverside as the citrus groves that once defined the region, but their brief, spectacular bloom creates canopies of purple that can be seen from miles away.
The trees represent an unusual marriage of beauty and durability. While their delicate trumpet-shaped flowers create an almost fairy-tale landscape, jacarandas are remarkably resilient, thriving in urban environments and living for decades with minimal care. This combination has made them ideal street trees throughout Southern California's Mediterranean climate.
Peak bloom typically lasts three to four weeks, with the intensity varying by individual tree and microclimate. The show concludes when the purple petals carpet sidewalks and streets, creating a brief but memorable finale to Riverside's most photogenic season.
If you’re hoping to catch the current bloom, Victoria Avenue between Mary Street and Washington offers one of the city's most concentrated jacaranda displays, with about a dozen trees creating a purple corridor. Throughout Riverside's established neighborhoods with mature tree canopies, jacarandas are ubiquitous, their purple blooms emerging above rooflines and along residential streets as a testament to decades of urban forestry.
Send us your jacaranda pics—we’d love to pick one of the best for an upcoming featured photo!
