Hi everyone.

Well it's all over now for another year and of course I'm
talking about the recent annual spring show and all of the preparation that
goes with it. It's a "mad time"; when bromeliad growers are
feverishly running around looking for plants that might be good enough to enter
in the various divisions. All of the preparatory jobs such as washing,
trimming, cleaning, topping up, pot cleaning and everything that goes with trying to make a plant
presentable for showing are now finished for another year.

The show is over and the results are in, some growers are
happy others disappointed; but overall everyone seems satisfied with the
standard of the show that we as a society presented to the public to promote
these wonderful, varied and versatile plants.

Apart from the individual exhibition plants, there is also
another very important part of the show and that is the combined main display.
This is realm of one lady member who along with various helpers is responsible
for “pulling the rabbit out of the hat” each year. It’s this lady who is the
unsung hero of the display and who dreams up the various themes, year in and
year out and from the picture in her mind, throughout the year she prepares the
various props required for such a display.

It all seems simple enough, you have a plan and you just
work to it; but no, there’s much more to it than that, as the display plan must
be flexible enough to cope with many changes as it’s not known what plant
material will be available until the day of the show. The plants are an unknown
quantity, as these are all loaned by different members who each contribute one
or a few plants toward the display, so it’s not know what plants will be
available until they land on the floor on the day of the show.

It then becomes a “giant jigsaw” with the framework in place
but all of the “holes” still to be filled in with the most suitable plants and
this all requires the skill and experience of this one lady who has done it
every year, ever since I joined as a member many years ago. I won’t mention her
name as it would embarrass her, and besides she would probably kill me anyway;
but all of the members know who she is and I’ll leave it up to you to judge the
quality of her work as I share with you some pictures of this year’s display
which had a Vietnamese theme.

We’ll start with the first picture as we look through the
“rising mist” (which was a great attraction for kids as it appeared randomly
and unexpectedly)

I'll finish up with a picture of the lady responsible for all of the above work, taken in last year's display with her scarecrow friend.

All the best, Nev.