Indigo Spring

Spring becomes indigo in my neighborhood and other parts of San Diego when the Jacaranda trees bloom. They’re the official non-native tree of our city. Below are some photos of this year’s bloom.

Jacaranda mimosifolia was first introduced here by Kate Sessions, our city’s founding botanist and the “Mother of Balboa Park“.

I’m working on a historical mystery (working title The Donkey Boy’s Dilemma) set in San Diego in 1891. One chapter takes place in the 30 acre nursery Kate Sessions leased from the city in what is now Hillcrest. The first Brazilian pepper trees she imported and planted in San Diego provide a valuable clue. Now I’m thinking I might switch the tree to jacarandas (the clues would work either way, with a slight rewrite).