Jacaranda Row

Index Street just west of Balboa is full of lovely lavender blooms — lovely, that is, if you don't have to park your car there on a regular basis.



"A few years ago, a photographer from Arizona Magazine came out here and photographed this street, because it's the only place that has Jacaranda trees all the way up and down both sides," a neighbor who had lived in on Index Street for more than 40 years. "It's nice, but for a couple weeks, a couple times a year, we've got a lot of cleaning to do. Look at that sidewalk!" he says, pointing at the flower-covered ground at our feet. There are as many blossoms on the lawns and concrete as there are on the trees; it looks like the floor of a Lilith Fair concert after a confetti drop.








Some homes on the street enhance the trees' showy color display by planting flowers with similar colors; Lily of the Nile and Lavender are popular along the street. But at this time of year, many residents with the trees would, at least temporarily, take a hike. Driving down the street, there isn't one vehicle that's been spared by the floral onslaught.











"It's kind of a pain, and they attract bees," said one neighbor who, armed with a hose, sponge, and spray bottle, was busy washing sticky blossoms off the roof of her car. "But it's pretty."