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Yay on my way to work this morning I saw my first pohutukawa flowers of the season - summer has arrived.
Pohutukawa are New Zealand's "christmas tree" - and very iconic here...They have amazing trunks and branches and the street where I live is lined with them. Lots are protected by heritage orders, which mean people can only trim them a very small amount.
This isn't my photo...Im not tall enough to get close enough to the blossoms on the tree outside my house but this is what they're like.
Pictures are from www.thecoromandel.com and www.ecoworks.co.nz
DoodlebearsMelissa, what an awesome flower. I love flowers but I have never seen one like this. It is so beautiful and yes very Christmassy. I wish we had the pohutukawa flowers here in the UK.
Thanks so much for sharing with us. 
Jane 
Very pretty flowers and a nice warm beach scene.....of course, you already know it is a lot different than here We got another 2 inches of snow yesterday 
I cannot imagine having Christmas where it is warm and no snow..... 
I guess it is all what you are used to.... 
Enjoy your beautiful Pohutukawa Flower and summer...... :hug: Ellen
Kim-Bee BearsCan I come visit?? I'll bring you some snow in a ziplock bag LOL Gooness, I cant stand snow.. I woke up to it flurrying again BLECH!
Posts: 8,574How beautiful....thankyou!!!! It has been so cold and dreary and foggy for weeks here....with 10 min of clear skies each afternoon!
Your pics are a breath of fresh air.....the beach scene was pretty tempting too
dilu
BEAR ME SHOOTKABeautiful!! My dream is to someday vacation in New Zealand or Australia. One of these days...
Erin, common, I know New Zeland is like Paradise but SOUTH CALIFORNIA sounds great to me too!! 
Julia
Melissa, what a glorious flower you have instead of a Christmas tree. But you know, it's hard for me to think abour New Year holiays without a snow and - 27 C outside.............Today was - 25 C with a strong wind....
Melissa, can I come? :hug:
Posts: 3,540Wow!!! They look like postcard pictures!!! Gorgeous..... I've never seen or heard of a Pohutukawa tree. LOL, and I canna spell it either 
had to copy/paste it! 
Back Road BearsWow, beautiful!!! More pictures of warm sunny places, PLEASE!!!!!!
Flying Fur StudiosI'll trade that pretty tree for our snow.
Well, we don't have alot of snow, but still
Thanks for the pics. THis thread goes nicely with the other one, 'winder wonderland'.
Enjoy your summer!!! Take in some warmth for all of us.
Past Time BearsBeautiful, Melissa . . . thanks so much for sharing!
and I'd trade the sun for a snowy Christmas any day!!
I'm going to miss the best of the pohutukawa - I'm heading home next week for two weeks and they don't grow down South.
We do have traditional Christmas trees too in case anyone thinks I'm missing out!
Mountain Dreamer BearsThose are beautiful flowers/trees, do they smell good? And what a lovely seaside scene. Thanks for sharing! I can almost see myself in that picture, dabbling my toes in the waves, soaking up the sun... ahhh.
Wow, beautiful!!! More pictures of warm sunny places, PLEASE!!!!!!
Yes, Please! More pics of sunshine, beaches, flowers, WARM places! It's cold and dreary here... blah. Even with the cold we seldom get a white Christmas... just a cold one.
As soon as Christmas is over, I'm ready for spring!
Matilda Huggington-beareYES VERY BEAUTIFUL!!
I use to live in Nelson Melissa. A good 20 years ago now though.
Rufnut Teddy'sYeah I would trade one Christmas for snow too.
Melissa the Pohutukawa "christmas tree" is fantastic thanks for sharing the photo with us.
Back Road BearsI think the weather is like our hair.... we're seldom happy with it, except for one of those 'perfect' days!
