That is Queen's Tears

They don't care if you think you left them dormant or not, Lisa! They just bloom when they feel like it.

Those are really cool bonsais SSG.

I have my first pics of 2016. This is my earliest blooming plant ever. My hamamelis are sporadically dipping their toes in the water but are too shy to go full bloom.

Bromeliads are just amazing plants. They take a ton of neglect and still push out the most amazing blooms. Queens Tears are just beautiful flowers.

I wrote about them after getting one from Pat. A man devoted many years to hybridizng them, there are amazing ones out there. Don Beadle.
http://www.fcbs.org/articles/D...

This says they may be hardy to zone 8
http://www.therainforestgarden...

I have a pot of small pups I started last spring, now they are getting pretty mature. I might put the big clump in my 'maybe zone 8' garden next fall and see what happens. And move the growing small clump to its pot.

Good morning Sun Shine.

The Queens Tears that I got from Pat is blooming now too. I can attest that they sure can take a lot of neglect and thrive anyway. I've noticed that whenever I handle the leaves for general removal of a few dead spots that I get a minor allergic skin reaction - bumps and very itchy. Has anyone else ever noticed that? You'd think I'd learn to put gloves on, but I never do. The allergic skin reaction lasts for a day or two.

I don't think I've ever handled a Queen of Tears before, but I'm allergic to pretty much everything in the garden. I marvel at gardeners who can work without gloves. I'd be covered in hives!

Well, I'm heading out today to look for a Powerball vendor. I can't remember the last time I bought a lottery ticket, but 1.4 billion dollars is just too tempting. And I had a dream about fire last night, which is considered really lucky in my culture.

I'm not sure that I would want a Billion $$ but a couple of Mill would be nice.
Terri, Pretty much all Bromies have rather sharp leaves you might just be cutting yourself up a bit. Not enough to make real cuts just small nicks. I don't touch the Bromies without gloves. Really I pretty much don't do any gardening without gloves.

I would feel a little bad for the people who win that much. I'd imagine that it is such a burden to be wealthy and try to maintain a right relationship with God. Not to mention all the people who would be trying to get some of the winnings. I wonder if it would change relationships with friends and family as well. Good luck to them, whomever it will be.

I really like my life, I wouldn't want to change it much. Extra $$ to travel more, maybe hire some help to take care of the house and gardens as we age, the house needs a little work, give some to the kids to make their lives easier, make my FIL and parents more financially secure.

Seq, I've read that 70% of lottery winners are generally broke after 7 years. They suffer what they call "positive income shock" and actually have a higher mortality rate.

I have grand plans about starting a non-profit and setting up schools to help certain underserved groups. It takes a ton of money to run a non-profit that doesn't bring in any money (versus a non-profit business), so you spend all of your time fund-raising. It would be amazing to be able to provide needed services without the constant begging.

Oh, and I'd buy a Tesla. But I certainly wouldn't quit my job.

I'd be done with working and commuting in a heartbeat, but other than that my desire for $s are totally aligned with Holly's - except with no kids it would be siblings to make their lives easier. Believe me, I have thought about this lottery business a lot when I am making that commute LOL.

Setting up a much needed non-profit can be very expensive, but with that kind of money an endowment could support it Ad infinitum. Something like a homeless shelter of homeless vets halfway house.

It'd be a burden. I don't really want any, but I joined in on the office group buy.

I would buy rundown properties in the city, tear down, and make parks and hire local people to maintain them. And hire people to clean the streets. Gardens and henhouses. A free picnic party every Friday, with good security. Senior housing with a school playground next door so seniors can watch and hear kids play. And I would be queen and decide who stays and who goes from all of that.

I love it, Queen Sally!

It's funny how "buy a new house" is not even in the top 10 of things I would do with that kind of money. You literally couldn't pay me to pack up my stuff and move. Plus, I have a really young garden... I can't just abandon it now!

ssgardener said:
You literally couldn't pay me to pack up my stuff and move. Plus, I have a really young garden... I can't just abandon it now!

Ah, but if you had that much money you wouldn't need to lift a finger, as the people you hire would take care of it all for you!

Agree with you about the garden--I would have a hard time leaving mine behind when I've worked so hard on it the past few years.

I would donate a lot of money to worthy causes and individuals.

It pleases me that many of you are so philanthropic. First you've got to figure that you'd lose half of it to the government for taxes. I'd donate half of the remainder and then comes the fun stuff. All of the members of our house church would get their homes paid off and I might give them $10k a year (just at the government gift limit ;-) ) after that. I'd give my parents and Darcy's parents a bunch. Of course I'd get a new home but wouldn't sell mine because of all the cool stuff that's growing here :-)

And I would definitely quit my job and start a nursery. There's a perfect place to buy a couple miles away.

That would be a dream Jeff. You could play with plants to your hearts content and never worry about showing a profit.
I'd probably put a solar GH over the entire veggie garden, remodel the upstairs into a master suite 9with a lift), reside the barn and the roofs with metal, and definitely buy the adjoining property. Then as you said, take good care of family and friends, and start a philanthropic interest.