Bromeliads and moss

How cute is this? My friend Buddy gave me this recently at a celebration in my honor. It's a wonderful bromeliad mounted in moss on a wooden plank.

I've had only one bromeliad in my life. It was a plant sent to the memorial service of Tim Halley, a reporter I worked with who died of AIDS. Tim wrote a heartbreaking piece on battling the disease. It drew a lot of attention in a time when the disease wasn't talked about much. For many years after Tim's death, I coordinated the Tim Halley Scholarship, given to a Lamar University nursing student each year. It has gone to some outstanding students with hearts for service to those in need.

I nurtured Tim's plant as best I could, but after a few years, it died. I'm sure it was something I did or didn't do, not knowing any better. I think it was this same variety. I'm reading up now on what care bromeliads need. We have a local bromeliad society and I'll get some tips from them. In the meantime, I'm misting it often and watching it take off. Soon, I'll have to move it to a larger host.