Not Happy, Jan!

I would like to think my Aussie followers know exactly what I mean by the words:

“Not Happy, Jan!”

It’s funny how three little words from a television advertisement back in the year 2000 became part of Australian culture.  You really do need to watch the ad to get a feel for their true meaning.

Due to the advertisements popularity, that line entered the Australian cultural vernacular as a catchphrase used to express a feeling of discontent.  But I could use a whole plethora of words to describe what those three words mean – frustration, dissatisfaction, annoyance, disgruntlement, unhappiness, displeasure, impatience, irritation, chagrin, annoyance, pique.

Ok, those words are all synonyms of discontent, but I hope you get the picture, and the meaning, when someone says “Not happy, Jan!”.

This is exactly how I feel about my Zygocactus – all of them.

I’ve been Waiting for My Zygos to bloom for quite some time, eagerly anticipating what colours they might be.  This time last year, my friend Muriel gave me cuttings from each of her plants, and each one was a different colour.  I can’t quite remember the colours she gave me, but I do recall red and white being amongst those little cuttings I brought home that day.

I potted them, watered them, feed them, loved them, and patiently waited for the all the season to pass by to finally arrive at that time of year when these plants begin to bloom in response to nights getting longer.  They’ve had buds on them for months, and finally, now that all those buds have opened, what do I have?

Pink, pink, pink and more pink!  I have pink flowers everywhere, and not another colour in sight.

I’m not even going to show photos of the other plants, because they’re all PINK!  All of them!  Sure, my little plants are healthy, full of buds and blooming well, but at least one different colour would have been nice.  (Can you hear my frustration?)

The only one that isn’t full of pink blooms is too busy – not flowering – but I have to say though, it does look ever so cute with all those fuzzy bits growing out the ends of its branches.

A quick trip to Dr Google and I was able to discover that light and temperature can sometimes cause these plants to change from a less dominant colour, such as white, to their more dominant colour, pink.  I guess it’s too late now for me to put them in a position that has more shade in the hopes that they throw flowers of a different colour next year – But I’ll try.

All in all, my initial thought may well have been “Not happy, Jan!” when I saw all those pink flowers, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like these plants.  I do.  I love them as much as I love every plant in my garden.