Tryphena Cracknell
Tryphena Cracknell (Rongomaiwahine) is a passionate gardener, crafter and foodie. She has spent a large part of her career working in museums and art galleries as a curator, historian and kaitiaki for amazing taonga tuku iho. Her published writing tends to focus on art, textiles, Māori arts practice and contemporary jewellery. She writes a regular column on native plants for Kiwi Gardener magazine and sometimes still moonlights as a curator. In recent years, she has worked in conservation, caring for flora and fauna, including as operations manager for the Department of Conservation in Rēkohu Chatham Islands.
2026 festival sessions
Aotearoa in Bloom
Rachel Clare and Tryphena Cracknell
9.30am-10.30am, Saturday 25 July, Whitehaven Theatre Marlborough, $25
Have you ever supped the nectar from a harakeke flower, written a letter to someone on a rangiora leaf or smelt toropapa, our most fragrant native plant?
In their new book, Aotearoa in Bloom, longtime friends Rachel Clare and Tryphena Cracknell invite readers on a botanical hīkoi through Aotearoa's flowers, exploring where they grow, when they bloom, the stories behind their names, their uses in te ao Māori and how to grow them in your garden.
Join them for an informative and entertaining session where they share some of the stories behind these plants including floral bigwigs like kōwhai and puawānanga (native clematis), as well as lesser-known species, such as our native geraniums, violets and forget-me-nots. Their presentation will also shine a light on the early women botanical artists, such as Sarah Featon and Georgina Hetley, who were keen to disprove the notion that Aotearoa was devoid of flowers, and plantspeople like Lucy Cranwell, Auckland Museum's first curator of botany, who held an annual native flower show for children. They'll kōrero about their favourite plants and also suggest suitable blooms for growing in your garden.
Buy Tickets Here