Bay of Plenty
Sandra Simpson meets a passionate frangipani aficionado
And he has continued to be supportive as her passion for plumeria trees has showed no signs of waning in the decades since.
The couple, both Kiwis, lived in Sydney for a number of years and made regular trips to Bali. “We went back for a wedding anniversary and most nights sat on the beach for dinner under the frangipani trees. It was heaven,” Carolyn recalls.
So when she moved to Tauranga’s coast more than 20 years ago, it was natural that Carolyn would plant a few frangipani trees; just as it was natural that when looking for another tree last year, this former business manager opted for a major career change.
A phone call to Peter Enticott of The Frangipani Hut in Northland meant that instead of buying one tree, Carolyn ended up buying almost 1000 – the whole nursery in fact! Then, in a massive shift last May, she moved the nursery to the outskirts of Tauranga! “Since then we’ve been getting to know the trees and helping them adjust to their new surroundings.”
The original plants came from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands with the nursery dealing only in cutting-grown trees as, although frangipani seeds are readily available in New Zealand, trees grown from seed generally don’t flower true to colour.
Plumeria, which have many common names including everlasting tree and temple flower, bloom from about midNovember to about mid-March with the cream-yellow flower being the most common and the most fragrant.
“Most people probably think they don’t look like much when they’re dormant but I love seeing the sculptural shape of the tree revealed,” says Carolyn. “I love them at every stage and in every season.”
Carolyn Leuschke was on honeymoon in Bali when she began a new love affair. Fortunately, husband Mark was entirely supportive.