The Brief

You know them, you might love looking at them, and you definitely hate to park under them. Jacaranda season is upon us, and the iconic tree gets a lot of attention every year (see here if you need help tracking them down). But if you only pay attention to that bloom, you’re barely scratching the surface of the flowers you can see every year – there's no shortage of tree species planted around town.

If you're going to park under a jacaranda, it helps if your car matches the flowers.

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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist

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Greater Los Angeles has an incredibly varied assortment of tree species, owing in part to its microclimates and the many varieties of trees that can adapt to live here, especially drought-tolerant ones. And while they may not all have the name recognition of the famous tree imported from South America, they’re just as eye-grabbing when you see them.

Keep your eyes peeled this summer for these blooms, and if there’s a particular tree you’ve got to see flower yourself, you might want to consult a guide like this one for the city of L.A.. And if you’d rather see a bunch of trees at once, it could be worth a trip to somewhere like the L.A. County Arboretum or Descanso Gardens.

To put some shine on these lesser-known tree species, we went ahead and polled some specialists from TreePeople and the L.A. County Arboretum for their favorite blooms.

One protip from our experts: The range of time when you can see these trees in bloom can vary substantially from year to year, especially as climate change intensifies. This year’s blooming season, like last year’s, is later than usual owing to a wet winter, and trees of the same species might not bloom at exactly the same time. So if you don’t see any flowers, don’t fret – you can look somewhere else, and the same tree could be a lot more flowery in just a week or two.

Crepe myrtles

• Lagerstroemia

A crepe myrtle tree in the L.A. County Arboretum.

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Courtesy Frank McDonough/L.A. County Arboretum

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Crepe myrtles do well in lots of L.A.'s microclimates, including by the beach. A specimen in Redondo Beach is pictured here.

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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist

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• When it normally flowers: Summer (may flower multiple times per year)
• Native to: Oceania, South and Southeast Asia
• About the tree: It shouldn’t be too hard to spot, since its hardiness makes it one of the most commonly planted trees in L.A., though TreePeople’s senior arborist Bryan Vejar said it’s fallen out of favor somewhat in recent years in part due to its widespread planting. And summer isn't the only time Frank McDonough, botanical information consultant of the L.A. County Arboretum, said that they're one of the best trees for fall foliage when cooler temperatures roll around.

Southern magnolia

• Magnolia grandiflora

Magnolia grandiflora getting ready to bloom.

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Courtesy U.S. National Arboretum

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• When it normally flowers: Spring through fall
• Native to: Southeastern United States
• About the tree: If you want to see some really big flowers, Vejar says this is one of the ones to look out for: They can get almost as big as a dinner plate. Magnolias are also a living fossil, being one of the first plants to evolve flowers tens of millions of years ago.
  

Tipuana

• Tipuana tipu

Tipuana tipu trees, like jacarandas, were originally brought to L.A. from South America.

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Flickr user Cyril Nelson

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• When it normally flowers: Early to late summer
• Native to: South America
• About the tree: This tree is a member of the legume family, but you might think it’s more closely related to maple trees if you saw their helicopter-like seeds, according to Vejar.
  

Gold medallion tree

• Cassia leptophylla

Cassia leptophylla, the Gold Medallion tree.

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Courtesy Frank McDonough/L.A. County Arboretum

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• When it normally flowers: Summer
• Native to: Southern Brazil
• About the tree: These are related to tipuanas, also being members of the legume family, and they produce long, skinny seed pods – though McDonough warned to be careful with these around kids, as they’re somewhat toxic.
  

Chinese flame tree

• Koelreuteria bipinnata

This tree goes by many names - Chinese flame tree, Chinese lantern tree, the Bougainvillea golden-rain tree - but whatever you call it, it's beautiful, right?

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Flickr user Surely Shirly

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• When it normally flowers: Summer to fall
• Native to: East Asia
• About the tree: These trees can be somewhat invasive in humid regions or close to the coast, but otherwise Vejar says they’ve adapted well to the Los Angeles urban environment. They’re also known as Chinese lantern trees due to their papery, lantern-shaped seed pods.
  

Strawberry tree

• Arbutus unedo

The strawberry tree can produce small white flowers year-round. It's just as remarkable for its fruit - which is much harder to eat than actual strawberries.

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Flickr user laredawg

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• When it normally flowers: Year-round
• Native to: Mediterranean Europe
• About the tree: This tree, an evergreen, has a deep red, exfoliating bark that’s almost as remarkable as its bell-shaped flowers. If you spot one, Vejar said you may also see some hummingbirds nearby. And the fruit is edible – though if you try it, be warned that it may be quite gritty and tough to chew.

Elderberry

• Sambucus racemosa)

Don't forget: Pollination is why plants evolved to produce flowers.

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Courtesy National Park Service

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• When it normally flowers: Summer
• Native to: Most of North America
• About the tree: While this widespread species is perhaps best known for its use in Native American medicine, it also produces beautiful flowers in white, cream and yellow. It’s currently in its blooming season, said Vejar.

Queensland bottle tree

• Brachychiton rupestris)

The Queensland bottle tree is one of a few Australian trees featured on this list.

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Courtesy Frank McDonough/L.A. County Arboretum

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• When it normally flowers: Spring to summer
• Native to: Queensland, Australia
• About the tree: These trees grow rather quickly and, being from a very dry part of Australia, have a mechanism where they can store water inside, similar to a cactus. According to McDonough, this is one of the most stable trees you can plant owing to its low center of gravity.

Desert willow

• Chilopsis

Desert willows are usually covered in pink flowers when they're in bloom, but they can also come in white.

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Courtesy Charlie McDonald/U.S. Forest Service

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• When it normally flowers: Late spring to summer
• Native to: Mexico and southwestern U.S.
• About the tree: These are related to jacarandas, and are one of the few species native to the area that is appropriate for an urban environment. Vejar said now is a good time to seek out this flower, as they’re just starting to bloom.
  

Catalina ironwood

• Lyonothamnus

The Catalina ironwood's exfoliating reddish bark and leaves are remarkable any time of year, but you can also spot it covered with white flowers when it's in bloom.

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Flickr user brewbooks

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• When it normally flowers: Summer
• Native to: Channel Islands
• About the tree: Being native to coastal regions, Vejar said the best place for this species to grow is by the coast, though it’ll still survive in the Inland Empire and other warmer areas.

Floss silk tree

• Ceiba speciosa

This specimen of ceiba speciosa was started from seed at the L.A. Arboretum.

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Courtesy Frank McDonough/L.A. County Arboretum

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• When it normally flowers: From August to December, depending on variety
• Native to: South America
• About the tree: The tree is loved by horticulturists for its prominent flowers and low water use – though its tendency to drop branches without warning has earned it the nickname “palo borracho” (drunken branch), said McDonough.

Lacebark tree

• Brachychiton discolor

Brachychiton discolor's flowers are beautiful on the tree, but they're just as showy when they drop to the ground.

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Courtesy Frank McDonough/L.A. County Arboretum

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• When it normally flowers: Summer to fall
• Native to: Eastern Australia
• About the tree: These flowers will eventually drop from the tree like jacarandas (and other flowering trees) – but with the lacebark tree, that’s actually a plus, as they produce a pleasing thwack sound when they hit concrete or asphalt. “I like to just put myself in a nice meditative state and listen to these things,” McDonough said. “There's no way to put any kind of word on it. It has a very calming effect on you.”
  

Plumeria

This is just one of many, many varieties of plumerias you can see at the L.A. Arboretum and around town.

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Courtesy Frank McDonough/L.A. Arboretum

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• When it normally flowers: Spring to fall, depending on variety
• Native to: Tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas, from Florida to Brazil
• About the tree: While this plant commonly associated with Hawaii is often grown as a shrub, McDonough said they’re more accurately classified as small trees. The L.A. Arboretum currently has the largest collection of plumeria in the U.S., and you can celebrate the flower at their Plumeria Festival this July 19 and 20.
  

Red flowering gum

• Corymbia ficifolia

A personal favorite flower produced by the red flowering gum tree.

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Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist

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• When it normally flowers: Year-round, but especially in July and August
• Native to: Western Australia
• About the tree: All right, I’ll admit it – this tree is my own addition, and I saved my personal favorite for last. I’m a big fan of flowers that look otherworldly, and these anemone-like blooms really take the cake. Like many of the trees listed, it can also grow in urban conditions that other species would balk at – it’s very “punk rock” in that way, as Vejar put it.

Topline:

The backstory: Once a year, dozens of sound artists converge on the hill with views of the harbor below to perform their audio art, which can range from serene to “beautifully weird.”

What to expect: This year includes a performer bending a bar of tin with his bare hands to get it to emit what’s called a "tin cry" and synthesizer-based soundscapes that take inspiration from both the ocean and the industrial space below.

When to go: Soundpedro is free and lasts from 7-10 p.m. Saturday.

More info at the Soundpedro website.

You may know about Union Station as an L.A. landmark or as a transportation hub — but how much do you know about its rich architectural history?

To foster that interest and knowledge, Metro created a series of public tours of the station this spring.

“There's so much that you might just walk by without really having the opportunity to delve deeply into,” said Zipporah Lax Yamamoto, deputy executive officer of Metro’s art program. “[The tours are] a really wonderful opportunity to be able to spend time with the station, learn more about the historic landmark, which belongs to all of us.”

Union Station in Los Angeles

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Myung J. Chun

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Getty Images

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Architectural style

It’s called Union Station because when it opened in 1939, it connected the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway.

While it was designed by father-and-son team Donald and John Parkinson, the architects who gave us L.A. City Hall, its style is very different. Union Station’s interior and exterior mixes art deco, Spanish colonial and other styles into a hybrid dubbed Mission Moderne.

As you begin the tour, entering from Alameda Street, tour guides ask you to look up at the decorative elements in the high ceilings. The beams and geometric patterns may look like wood — but they’re actually just painted to look that way.

A community destroyed by development

Along the way, the tour gives background on pieces created more than 30 years ago. These include "City of Dreams/River of History" by artists May Sun and Richard Wyatt in 1995. Sun’s piece uses remnants of the Chinese American homes torn down to build the station, a reference to the high price that community paid for this building’s construction.

Detail from "City of Dreams/River of History," created by artists May Sun and Richard Wyatt at Union Station.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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“It was an enormous price. Chinatown ceased to exist in this area. … The families that lived here during that time are still around and maintain archives of that time period and the original Chinatown here, and we've worked with those families to have those objects on display,” Lax Yamamoto said.

Meanwhile, Wyatt’s large-scale mural includes the face of a Chinese man, along with nine other people of different races, ethnicities and ages; a nod to the diversity of the city since its founding in the late 1700s.

There are also stops to see new art installed for the World Cup.

A mural by Richard Wyatt at Union Station

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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There are three tours left in the series but the RSVPs have reached their maximum; however, Lax Yamamoto said Metro will decide whether to continue them based on what people have thought about the tours.

Meanwhile, Union Station is set to swell with people in the next couple of months as L.A. hosts World Cup games. The station is the site of an official FIFA-sponsored Fan Zone from June 25-28.

When I first came to the states many years ago, if I’d mentioned Arsenal, people would have thought I was referring to the U.S. military or something. But all that has changed. You can now watch U.K. premier league games in sports bars, most kids play soccer, and Ted Lasso is must-watch TV.

To which I say — welcome. We English are proud of the fact that soccer began with us more than 150 years ago. And every World Cup, we think, surely this will be the year that the trophy returns home — the year that we’ll win!

Queen Elizabeth II awarding the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy to Bobby Moore after England won the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley.

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Marc Atkins/Getty Images

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Getty Images Europe

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I mean it did happen … once… back in 1966. It’s such a long time ago the game was televised in black and white and shillings were still being used. My mother was nine months pregnant with my brother, and got so excited jumping up and down she went into labor and had him the next day. World Cup Willie they called him. Actually his name is David, but never mind.

Since then, every four years everyone in the U.K. watches the games with bated breath. And then something stupid will happen, and we’ll lose, like that time in 1998 when David Beckham (who played for England before he came to L.A. Galaxy) lost his temper and was sent off, and we’ll sit there, gloomy and despondent. I know because I was there in my friend’s living room in London, gloomy and despondent, thinking just once, just once, maybe could we please have a win?

David Beckham's infamous 1998 red card in the England vs. Argentina game.

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Richard Sellers/Allstar/Getty Images

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Getty Images Europe

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The last World Cup, I went to Ye Olde Kings Head in Santa Monica to watch England play. At 7 a.m. it was full of people already on their third pint of beer. And when the team got through to the next round, the gentle men of England ran outside the pub, whipped off their shirts and started weaving through traffic, singing football chants and acting like hooligans. I really couldn’t decide if I was embarrassed or if it felt like home.

Anyway, this time, since I’m now an American citizen, it’s in my contract that I need to support Team USA. I’m a dual citizen, though, so I’ll also be cheering for England. If by any chance Team USA and England play each other, my two selves will be watching, with a cup of tea in one hand, and a cold brewski in the other, and the polarities will explode, or something. But what will probably happen is that both teams will be eclipsed by Brazil or France playing the beautiful game… beautifully. Cheers.

Stereotypes die hard. Los Angeles actually has a massive public transport system serving the region, which boasts the world's longest light rail line in the form of the 58-mile long Line A (or for old-timers, the Blue line) and tons of buses.

But if you opt to engage in the gladiator sport that is L.A. driving — a reminder you're going to need to park that thing too.

Here's where we come in.

Curb parking

No surprise, our curbs are painted in different colors with different restrictions.

Heads up: Red, White and Blue curb regulations are in effect 24/7, unless otherwise noted. And additional restrictions could apply if posted on a sign, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

Red Curbs — Nope

• No stopping, parking or standing 
• Doesn't matter if there's a driver or passenger inside the car

Yellow Curbs — Depends

• For commercial loading only
• Vehicles with a commercial license plate can park here, but only if they are actively loading or unloading stuff, for a maximum of 30 minutes
• Restrictions are in effect Monday through Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. unless otherwise posted on signs
  
  • That means you can park in yellow zones after 6:00 p.m. with no restrictions, unless otherwise noted
• Vehicles without a commercial license plate may load and unload passengers or baggage, for a maximum of 5 minutes

White Curbs — You gotta get going fast

• Passenger loading only for a maximum of 5 minutes

Blue Curbs (Accessible Parking Zones) — If you have the placard

Those famous 'clashing' L.A. parking signs

Before we move on to other facets of parking in Los Angeles. We want to take a moment to address a persistent complaint about confusing parking signs that are often clustered together.

When you encounter this phenomenon, we suggest patience. You don't need a degree in math, probably just a pen and paper.

For the sign in the video, here's when you can and cannot park (we think):

• No parking on Mondays between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. because of street cleaning
  
  • all other days you can park between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., but please be aware there's a 2 hour parking limit
• Every night, you can stop your vehicle for 10 minutes only for passenger loading between 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
  
  • If the curb is not white, then you can park outside of the 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. window without that restriction
• You can park for 2 hours:
  
  • Between Tuesdays and Saturdays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
  • But remember on Mondays, parking is prohibited from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. because of street cleaning
  • On Sunday, you can park for 2 hours between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Heads up: When in doubt, find somewhere else to park.

Meter parking

LADOT says it operates some 38,000 parking meters in the city. Sometimes it feels as if there are as many meter enforcement people out there.

There are different ways to pay — coins, credit cards, and via text or an app at a number of meters.

Heads up: If a meter is broken, meaning it cannot accept coins or a credit card, then you can only park for free up to the posted time limit.

Other no-no's

Here are several other no parking rules, pulled from this list from LADOT

• In alleys, except for to unload things or passengers
• Within 15 feet of a fire station driveway or fire hydrant
• No double parking
• In a center median strip, unless signs indicate otherwise

Parking on a federal holiday

Certain city parking regulations are not enforced on national holidays. They are enforced on state holidays.

• Time Limit
• Parking meters
• No Parking with specified days and times only
• No stopping with specified days and times only
• Street sweeping (also not enforced the day after Thanksgiving and after Farmworkers Day)

If a national holiday falls on a Saturday it will be observed by the city on a Friday. If it falls on a Sunday it will be observed by the city on a Monday. Parking restrictions are not enforced on both the holiday and the observed holiday.