My brother Eric Butler had invited us to join the Horticultural Society of The Bahamas for many years but Swithun and I were not very interested in bromeliads and, since I was working full time, I made the excuse that I was too busy. However, when I retired in 2005, Swithun and I decided to give it a try. We attended our first BSI World Bromeliad Conference in San Diego, CA in June 2006 and we have attended almost every one since then because we enjoyed the conferences so much. It really got us “hooked” on bromeliads. We had always enjoyed gardening but were interested mostly in orchids, roses and perennials. Now we have added a variety of bromeliads. We particularly like the ones we purchased at the International Conferences because many of them are “first timers”.
We have made our mistakes in purchasing plants that were not particularly suited for our climate but we have learnt and cannot adequately express the joys of planting, transplanting and caring for our varied assortment. Swithun enjoys this great therapeutic activity so much that he now does most of the gardening while I enjoy purchasing and choosing unusual bromeliads. We are so happy that we are bromeliad enthusiasts and encourage anyone who has a passion for gardening to get into this species of plant life.
Lorraine Burrows