The garage sale Bromeliads continue to amaze me. The red flowers are from Aechmea miniata, a Bromeliad I stumbled upon at a garage sale a few years ago. Five bucks is my limit for a plant unknown to me, as this one was when I found it. Bromeliads tend to run anywhere from 12 dollars for a small unnamed mystery plant at the Big Box stores to $100 and up for a named, big, lush specimen. The problem with these named, expensive plants is generally no one can tell you where they will grow “move them around til you find a place it likes” or “I think it flowers”. I am too frugal for this sort of nonsense and think if a plant is sold for prices like that you should get some reasonable directions. Or at least knowledge of whether it flowers. More Florida gardening nonsense. The market here demands nothing.
I have been trying to decide if the flowers look more like trees or broccoli. Neither, really. The flowers are crunchy and last about two weeks in a vase. The green swirling fern is a cutting of Asparagus Fern I twirled around the base of the Miniatas.
The Miniatas are flowering madly and have been for a month or so. The tree that shades them got a fairly major pruning after Hurricane Irma last year. The normal olive colored foliage has burned from the sun (or lack of rain) but has been bravely sending up flower after flower. Time will tell what happens next should be interesting, the other Garage Sale Bromeliads are producing pups – I should have hundreds of dollars worth of Bromeliads shortly. Unfortunately, I hate having garage sales.
Sad news from my garden this week. I lost my sweetest, spotted Greyhound to bone cancer on Friday. Farewell, faithful Charles.
Charles
The Shrub Queen 
Wow! amazing blooms.
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Wow! Those look great. So sad about Charles.
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Thanks. Christina.
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Poor Charles.
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The red Aechmea miniata is a great find and you’ve arranged it to great effect. Sorry to hear you’ve lost your Charles.
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Thank you!
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Sorry to hear about your dog, a much loved member of the family.
The ‘Florida gardening nonsense’ seems a strange phenomenon to our UK ears and even garage sales are not especially common – here car boot sales are held frequently and there are far more potential buyers so that is probbaly the preferred option. The Miniatas are gloriously colourful and must make a lovely bright splash in your garden too.
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Thank you, Cathy and the nonsense wouldn’t be tolerated in a gardening paradise like the UK. I am enjoying the Miniatas inside and out.
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My heart goes out to you, Our furry kids are such wonderful companions but simply don’t live long enough. You and Charles were lucky to find each other.
Your bromeliad blooms are impressive as is the fact that you find them at garage sales in your area! Have you considered selling online? Easier than a garage sale except that boxing up and mailing thing.
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Thank you, Peter. I am giving most of them away or adding on to my garden. Eventually I may have to sell them online. I can’t throw a good plant away!
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It such a sad thing to loose a well loved pet….
Again its colour that is just lovely here, and the blue vase works so well.
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I agree..and thank you.
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Stunning. I love the way the vase picks up the tips of blue. So sad to hear that you have lost your lovely Charles.
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Thank you, Liz. I think the flowers are a bit otherworldly.
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That strikes me as a difficult bloom to put in a vase but you’ve done it to perfection. I have not had a pet for many years but I know that losing them is always difficult. My sympathies go out to you.
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Thank you, I wanted a lower bowl for the arrangement -like a grove of trees.
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So sorry to read about Charles… may he RIP, pain-free at last. 😦 It aches to lose a beloved pet.
Your bromeliad sounds like it has more than paid for itself. Long-lasting blooms are garden treasure.
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Thanks, I wish I didn’t love dogs so much sometimes. That Bromeliad is a treasure.
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I continue to be amazed by how well your bromeliads bloom. I’m sorry you’ve lost your Charles – he looks like a sweetheart.
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Thanks, he was a sweetheart. Those are probably the most reliable bloomers.
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I am so sorry about Charles. It is sad that they do not last as long as we do, but as you know, they pack so much into their limited time.
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Thanks, Tony that is true. Charles had a good time.
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