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Manuka 1

Manuka 2 

Manuka 3 

Thank you for all your good wishes for the fair I attended on the weekend. It was really well organised and supported, and I left the big city feeling inspired by the lovely things I'd seen there. It looks like Auckland has a fabulous crafty scene, and i got to meet Heleen and Jennie, among other blog-friends. And thank you very much to those blog readers who came to say hello!

This blog post is really a little ode to the manuka tree that leans over our verandah. When I woke up on Sunday morning and looked out the bedroom window, I noticed it was proudly in flower and the petals were covering the ground like pink confetti. I love the contrast between the papery-delicate flowers and spiky, hardy foliage. Manuka is native to NZ and some parts of Australia, and is a useful plant: manuka products contain strong antibacterial properties. Manuka honey is the best. I love this tree very much. Thank you to whoever planted it.

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24 responses to “manuka”

  1. Nancy Cook Avatar

    That tree is breathtaking. I had never seen or heard of it before. Thanks for sharing it.
    Happy to hear your weekend went well.
    x

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  2. fiona Avatar

    i only knew about manuka honey in the supermarket. now i know how the flowers look like. thank you!

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  3. Margaret Oomen Avatar

    i am glad fiona reminded me of the honey
    now I recall where I saw that name before
    It is used for severe burns

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  4. Jennie Avatar

    We only eat the active manuka honey – very good for you!
    It was lovely to meet you on saturday – you are lucky the table was between us, as I wanted to hug you (!)
    Hope you’ve recovered, must have been a very long day.
    David took our girls to see the stage show of Alice in Wonderland while i was at the fair, then they came to the gallery afterwards to help pack up.

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  5. Liivia Avatar

    I love this manuka. never hear:)

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  6. Becka Avatar

    So pretty, reminds me of summer at the bach. I’m glad the weekend went well!

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  7. Celine Avatar

    oh… I knew about the honey but I had never seen what the plant looked like

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  8. louana Avatar

    Glad the weekend went well I so wish I was able to make it. We love manuka here and there is a tree near our house, Eloise always does a sneaky pick of some of the flowers, if I was 4 I probably could get away with it too. Lucky you having one in your garden.

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  9. kaylovesvintage Avatar

    I know manuka honey and now I know the flower

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  10. Laura Avatar

    I recently started putting Manuka honey on my cereal in the morning once I heard of its antibacterial properties – what a treat! Nice to see its actual origins!

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  11. Hadley Avatar

    Oh! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
    Also, I’m glad your show went well. ❤

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  12. D Avatar

    ditto, lovely photos of the manuka, never imagined it to be so pretty! all you need now is a garden beehive to harvest a wee bit of honey for yourself 🙂 i do think it’s a bit smelly, but what a supernatural healing potion it is!
    glad to hear the fair was a success, never a doubt in my mind tho’ … 😉

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  13. Eliane Avatar

    great, now i know how the original manuka flower looks like. as aromatherapist i am in the lucky position to have many manuka trees and shrubs here in the southwest of ireland but it is exiting to see the REAL thing, thanks! we have the nz-honey of course, there is the “normal” weak honey and also the very expensive with a very high antibiotic factor (umf).

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  14. Rebecca Avatar

    winter flowers – what a treat!

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  15. Ingrid Avatar

    I never heard of it and I don’t know if we have that in the Netherlands.I’m going to search this tree, I love the flowers of it and I really want to try the honey!
    Thanx for showing!

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  16. Jules Avatar
    Jules

    Seeing manuka brings back great memories of my childhood growing up in rural Northland. The picture of manuka on the tea towel is cool! I have been wanting to get a tattoo of a NZ flower on my ankle for ages and hadn’t been able to find what I wanted but this looks great!

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  17. tinyhappy Avatar

    ooh- a manuka tattoo…
    that would be cool- you should do it!

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  18. Jo Avatar

    I’d seen that plant here in Australia but hadn’t known what it was – thanks for identifying it!

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  19. Sera Avatar

    I walked past one of these on Sunday and it took me back to afternoons as a kid at my great-uncles place. They’re such amazing trees and seemingly bloom overnight!

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  20. Becky Avatar

    Beautiful! I never realised Manuka honey meant it came from a Manuka tree…all makes sense now!

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  21. Jules Avatar
    Jules

    I’m booked in next week!

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  22. tinyhappy Avatar

    brilliant- will you send me a picture? (only if you want to…)

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  23. Jules Avatar
    Jules

    Of course! 🙂

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  24. Susan Avatar
    Susan

    I have seen those flowers in arrangements, never knew what they were – thank you – what a beautiful tree.

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