Walks in Wellington, always take you through under or around the Pohutukawa trees. They are everywhere and flowering profusely.
The Pohutukawa trees are almost always flowering at Christmas. So, although we do not chop them down and drag them inside and hang tinsel on them, these are our New Zealand Christmas trees. They sing holidays to us.
This big green patch in this valley is the local primary school.
Some of these big fancy modern expensive hilltop mansions are not pretty but they certainly have the view. The joy of the hills around Wellington is that even from an ordinary hilltop house the views can be pretty incredible.
Wild fennel.
I commented to my son how I was hearing more birdsong than in recent years and he told me about the determination nationally to get rid of the rodents that prey on our precious native birds. It seems to me that even though the official programme has been up and running for about a year, with government funds now, there are definitely more birds. I can hear them. t is a wildly ambitious plan but we all LOVE it.
He also told me that the new Labour government in New Zealand has decided that the first year of university education is free for all New Zealanders. Education is the key component to keeping a country alive and thriving. This is not new, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Austria. Belgium. Czech Republic and Germany, are a few of the countries who also have free tertiary education for citizens.
Oh, my breakfast in bed, (whipped cream on Vogels toast – my favourite bread – with two blueberries and three raspberries placed in a smiley face pattern) has arrived. Hmm. An interesting breakfast. Time to get up then?
In Illinois, it looks like it is still OK, weather-wise, but next week the temperatures will plummet.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
WEATHER: WELLINGTON. Cloudy and moderately windy (for Wellington).
Friday 12/22 20% / 0 in
Morning clouds will give way to afternoon sunshine. High 69F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph.
Friday Night 12/22 10% / 0 in
Partly cloudy. Low 57F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.
Sun
5:44 am 8:54 pm
Moon
Waxing Crescent, 10% visible 8:58 am 11:27 pm
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
53 responses to “POHUTUKAWA”
Gorgeous pics. So nice to know you’re at home for a while walking around the festive Pohutukawa ( I’d probably pronouce it badly!) trees.
Maori is not so hard to pronounce – I am sure you would do just fine
Just beautiful and I can just imagine those warm breezes from the sea! Your Christmas trees are quite spectacular! While the American custom of “chopping down trees, dragging them inside and hanging tinsel on them” may sound barbaric to some…it is actually a good thing to support Christmas tree plantations to do so. Number 1…it creates habitat (food, shelter, nesting sites, etc.) for wild creatures, such as birds, deer, fox, beneficial insects, amphibians, etc. Number 2. If there wasn’t land set aside for Christmas tree plantations, most would quickly become another sub division, strip mall or just paved over for some kind of “development”. So, the next time Christmas rolls around…go out and get that tree from your local Christmas tree farm…to give back and replenish nature…They will keep re-planting those trees and not be putting up ugly buildings!
Your breakfast in bed sounded just lovely! Lucky Grandma!
We also chop down pines and bring them in as christmas trees – I am sorry if that sounds like a criticism of the US I did not mean that at all. Our pohutukawa is not a christmas tree per se, it just flowers at christmas and makes NZers think of christmas.
ohh it looks lovely there! Enjoy yourself.
I will – thank you Janet. I hope your wind up to christmas is good too!
What a beautiful exotic country. How amazing to have ancestors who ventured out (where you get your traveling spirit I guess) to such a far away land to settle & plant their roots. Mine came across as far as Massachusetts & Virginia, intrepid enough back so long ago. So grand to see your lovely enlightened country in your beautiful photos. Thanks, Celi.
I am a 6th generation NZer. So they emigrated out here long long ago.
Late-1700’s my ancestors arrived in Canada, so I guess am at least 6th generation. And even when I tell people that they still ask where My family originates from. I always find that a little odd 😳 Amazing that it has taken only a year to get such great advances in the bird population– hope it keeps up. And yes, the views are wonderful. — Mame
I wonder if that is the same tree we had in the backyard of my childhood home in Southern California — we called it a bottlebrush tree.
The so have similarities. The pohutukawa is actually of the myrtle tree family.
The pest eradication programme is certainly a wonderful thing. 1080 drops are not a perfect method, but it is the best chance we have of fighting back against these bird predators. And the bird life certainly has increased – even in the five years I have been living in my newish subdivision, I have noticed the bird life increasing. Wood pigeons and tuis are a common sight now, and we occasionally see birds which I think are kakas? Dark coloured with vivid orange under their wings when they fly. But you will not convince some people that 1080 is doing any good, they are determined to see it as a plot by the government to poison us all, and no amount of scientific facts will convince them otherwise.
My son told me he has seen more kaka’s too – I am excited about that!
You have Pohutukawas, we have Flamboyant trees (poincianas), both beautiful and brilliant red in the Christmas summer sunshine. Welcome home to the south, Miss C.
They sound wonderful!
Yes, you are home and yes, the Christmas Bush is flowering! Hmmm, Milady we’ll argue about that one forever as we argue about the pavlova!!! Being a frustrated architect I may not agree about your view of the ‘hilltop mansions’ as many show remarkable imagination and building skills , but . . . Hugely pro – help in free university education . . . . well, we have to get rid of our so-called ‘Liberal’ forefront first . . .
Oh dear – well I hope the rest of your days reading is better. Have a lovely day. c
Oh dear – did not know there was ought wrong with y’days’s reading 🙂 ! Thoroughly enjoyed!!! Spending hours a week reading/viewing the architectural modes of today, I just happen to think New Zealand is producing some remarkable results! I don’t know how much access you have to ‘Lifestyle’ programmes. Or how much interest. Perchance my usually Geminian way of trying to fit four topics into as many lines may be confusing at times, sorry 🙂 !!!!
The sky and water are SO blue – can’t get over how refreshing it looks!
Such beautiful pictures my friend. We absolutely love them!! XOXO – Bacon
Oh I know you weren’t in criticism of the US and I also didn’t mean to imply that you were. I should of worded my comment differently. It’s just that alot of people..especially this time of year do not realize how beneficial the tree farms are to us and especially Mother nature! I myself felt the same way for many years and would not buy a cut tree for Christmas until I learned how much they provide and if we didn’t support the farms, we would be looking at a strip mall instead!
I’m sorry C. forgive me!
Happy Christmas!