Australian and New Zealand Gardening: BROMELIADS FOR NOVICES AND ADDICTS - JULY 2014, 2 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone - Very windy and cold here again today.

My son and his family decided to go to Canberra today for a bit of a look around, they got home about two hours ago and are still in front of the heater. He said they'll never complain abut how cold it is here after being there and freezing all day.

Colleen - I think we must be getting the overflow of the icy wind from you as it's really uncomfortable and if it continues, I can't see myself doing anything outside tomorrow.

Looking at your pic of the log on the fire reminded me of things we did when we were kids, and I remembered what we did when it was winter and the freezing south west winds used to howl all night.

After tea (we always called our evening meal tea time and lunch time was called dinner time).....anyway after tea Dad would go through the bed warming ritual. This was before electric blankets as we didn't even have electricity and the usual thing everyone used at that time was a hot water bottle, but Dad would never have a hot water bottle in the house after one of the little girls in the village where I lived had her legs badly scalded when one busted. Instead, he would put three house bricks in the oven of the old fuel stove and when it was time for bed he would get them out and wrap them in an old jumper and put them down the bottom of the beds to warm things up a bit. They certainly did the job and held the heat just as well (if not better ) than a hot water bottle and we used them for many years.

Sorry about that everyone, but it was Colleen's fault, she got me sidetracked once again. The thing is there's nothing to report on the bromeliad front as I was at the museum all day today as it wasn't worthwhile staying home as we had a power outage from 0830 -1730 as the energy company was replacing five power poles in our street, so I couldn't even make a cup of tea unless I wanted to boil the billy on the BBQ and it was too cold for that.

Trish - Nice pic's once again, but the standout today for me has to be the Neo. 'Frivolity'. Great shape, lovely wide leaves and a beautiful soft pale peach colour. I've never seen it before and I must say I was a bit disappointed when I looked it up on the BCR though, as it appears it will colour up much more than that, and the beautiful pale colour it has at present will be lost to darker shades (albeit still nice) but I prefer the paler colour myself. It's another hybrid from the Allan Freeman stable and was a crossing of Neo. 'Fairy Plum' x Neo.'Fairy Tale'.

Time to go and once again I'll have to post some old file pic's until I take some new ones. Pic.1 today is an old favourite of mine Neo carolinae x concentrica, Pic.2 was one which was exhibited in our show a few years back and is called Deuterocohnia brevifolia, Pic.3 is Nidularium procerum 'orange', Pic.4 is Neo. concentrica x ('Charm' x 'Cracker Jack') and Pic.5 is Nidularium campos-portoi.

All the best, Nev.