Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES & ADDICTS MARCH 2012, 2 by DawnSong

DawnSong wrote:
Hi all. Seems a bit cool here this morning. Must be imagining it, surely.

Shirley, have fun at Wendy's. Wish I could could get there today but no transport until Sunday. Wendy always has a surprise or two up her sleeve though so we'll see. Yes, I'm on FB as well so just look for Karen Warne or send me your ID and we'll link up. My avatar is a pink lotus.

Nev, the rainbow lorikeets are nectar eaters. They will nibble some grain, especially sunflowers, but it is not good for them to live on it. Their system isn't set up to digest it, so I guess they nibble on it for the roughage. I buy two mixes, one lorikeet wet mix, the other a dry mix, from the Aus. Parrot Society. Costs a fortune but at least I know the birds are getting some goodness from it, as it has added vitamins etc. The wet mix goes in under 2 minutes, then I leave the dry mix out for those who are still hungry. Bread is a no-no too, but when flowers are scarce I'll mix a plate of bread, a tablespoon of wet mix and water as it is then that the numbers swell and I couldn't afford to feed that many birds. Wildlife people would be furious, but the large flocks don't come in often so I don't think that the odd treat would do much harm. Green apples are also a favourite with them and those are generally cheap enough to put out one daily.

Hope everyone has a fine day ahead.
Karen