Australian and New Zealand Gardening: LOOKING FOR SPRING..... BROMELIADS 2015, 1 by bromishy

bromishy wrote:
Hi Everyone!

Well book works out the road for a bit so that’s great as I’m over paperwork at the moment because it’s never ending as I am always neck deep in it at work and to coming home to more can be a bit exhausting at times. Weekends nearly here so looking forward to getting tomorrow over and done with.

Hi Brian great to hear the trip and wedding went well, looks like a lovely spot you were staying with great views. I adore Sydney for its markets and places to eat; whenever Joe and I go we have the best time and normally go there with just our clothes on our backs and empty suitcases and fill them up and come home as the shops are fantastic there.

Thanks for sharing pictures with us of the bromeliads in the botanical gardens, like you whenever I go to these sort of gardens I am always on the lookout out for what bromeliads they have growing as well as I really like visiting the cacti gardens in those sort of gardens because you get to see plants growing and flowering that you don’t see every day.

Hi Jean I am so pleased you are enjoying the needle felting so much and that you can do it indoors when it’s not nice enough to venture outside; I did not realise it was used well before woven materials and great that you’re getting right into the craft and bringing it back to life but sounds like it’s becoming popular again. Anyway looking forward to seeing your next project as really liked the last one you did.

He he yes normally I do hover over my seed trays getting the beds ready but with this shutdown at work it has pretty much absorbed most of my time and energy but now that it’s nearly over I should have more time and energy to get back into a normal routine. This is a perfect time to sow seeds before it gets too hot as gives them a chance to germinate and grow enough to toughen up a bit before summer arrives. Yes Mum gets very excited when her brom seeds germinate and normally rings me as soon as they do, she has a real knack at caring for them and growing them on to be nice healthy seedlings and is always disappointed when some of the smaller seedlings die but I always tell her that nature has a way of doing that with the weak seedlings leaving only the strong to survive and it’s natures natural way of culling things and that she should not feel back about something she does not have control over.

Thanks Joe and I are taking things easy best we can and plan to take things easy over the weekend with no big plans.

Lovely pics you posted even if they are old pics like you say I still always enjoy opening them up and having a close look at them all; how pretty is the flower on the Ae. In pic 1.

Hi Nev I have not told Mum yet about you kindly going to send us some seeds for Mum and me to try growing, she will be over the moon about that and always talks very highly about you Nev and can’t thank you enough for all that you have taught her about broms through me as well as the wonderful manual you wrote on how to grow bromeliads from seed; that’s the only reason why we both have been so successful growing broms from seed and we can’t thank you enough for teaching us so much, you have been a real mentor and a wealth of knowledge compared to what we have read in books or googled. I printed your manual and bound it in a book for her a couple of years ago and it sits proudly in her book shelf like my copy does for quick reference anytime we go to sow seeds and forget what we did last time.

Nev thanks for putting my name down for Ae. ‘Aussie Ruby’, only if it’s not too much trouble and you don’t mind; I don’t mind waiting as long as it takes, that’s why our Wish Lists are so great it’s when we can and I find a lot of Wish Lists I have from other people take a while to fulfil because most of the time the plant they are chasing I have not had for that long and I want to get pups off it first for myself before parting with any just in case something happens to the mother plant but eventually I have additional pups I am more than happy to part with and this helps free up room around our garden.

Your son’s work lunches sound yummy and what a great way to thank workers for meeting targets / deadlines, there should be more of that occurring with companies but a lot of them can’t be bothered and some can’t even manage a simple thank you now days, I am pretty lucky where I work as they do appreciate the hard work we put in and do thank us often and ask us out to dinner/lunch etc. as thanks and we also take days in lieu down the track if we want.

Pleased to hear you liked the pic of Neo. ‘Grace’, I too have always been impressed with the brilliant colour this one produces and everyone should at least have a couple in their collection because of that brilliant in your face colour that always brightens up the garden but also the overall natural sheen it gets always impresses me the most and I think these two qualities is what makes it such a stunner. Great pics you posted also even if as you say they are old, Pic 1 is that Neo. ‘Cats Pyjamas’ or something along those lines, it’s breathtaking and so unusual.

Hi Teresa pleased to hear Sugar had so much fun at the dog park; she sounds like a very protective girl who luvs her mummy very much but you sound like you have good control over her as she is quick to listen when you give her the command to come back, so she knows you’re the boss and she respects that by the sounds of things.

Pleased to hear you liked the look of Neo. ‘Morando’, I will have to post a progress picture of the one coming into flower in the garden so you can see what it looks like when it fully flowers to see if you still like it. I too luv spots and stripes all on the one bromeliad as the detail really catches my eye and stops me in it’s track.

Take Care & Happy Gardening!

Neo. 'Prince of Darkness' - old pic - this one's pupping at the moment and the pups are ready to take off now.

Trish