JAC'D UP: Purplish-blue trees hope to inspire Town festival

Long-time Beach resident Barb Hill has a vision to color Fort Myers Beach a purplish tint.

The life-long gardener and her committee recently conducted a first round of plantings of the Jacaranda tree (15 in one day) on Estero Island. They have a second round of plantings slated for the third week in May, roughly the time when the tree reaches full bloom.

The 'Jacaranda Project' doesn't stop there, however. Hill is encouraging the planting of at least 200 Jacaranda trees on Fort Myers Beach during this spring/summer of 2014 and 2015. Then, in 2016, at the height of May's Jacaranda bloom, the committee is envisioning an inaugural Jacaranda Festival on the island. The proposed weekend long festival would be "community wide and attract both locals and tourists with its unique activities and focus."

BOB PETCHER Barb Hill's backyard tree looks like it could be in full bloom a month before the Jacaranda is expected to reach that point. She is pushing to plant more trees on the Beach and hoping to inspire a Jacaranda Festival in 2016.

Hill pitched that idea to Town Council members on April 7, and then to FMB Chamber business members last Thursday.

"I'm thinking of the different things we can do as a town to promote this tree and its color," she said. "To those who say I can't plant that tree because it will block my sign, I say it might draw an eye to your whole building if your tree is in bloom. That burst of color makes such a difference."

While the Jacaranda tree is not indigenous to the state (South America is their native home), it is designated as Florida friendly. Having a town tree festival in a state whose name originates from 'flora' would makes sense, wouldn't it?

"These trees grow all over the world," said Hill. "In the United States, you can find them in California, Texas and Florida. But, Australia is the only place in the world that has a festival."

When Hill took a Master Gardener course with Steve Brown of Lee County Extension services after moving to Florida from Tennessee, she approached him about the flowering tree.

"He told me that it was noninvasive, it didn't need much fertilizing except when you get it started, and that it was a well-managed tree," she said.

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JAC'D UP: Purplish-blue trees hope to inspire Town festival