Mid-Autumn in N.E. Downunder - Vriesea bromeliad blooming

Marguerite, it's actually growing in amongst the broken ends of the old palm fronds that have been cut off. That's an African Oil Palm, which does have rather spiky fronds.

We thankfully only have three African Oil Palms. One of them is absolutely enormous. We didn't plant any of them, and they certainly would not have been a planting choice of mine.

When it comes to trimming back the old fronds, we burn them here. It's much easier than trying to cut them into pieces to fit onto a trailer for a trip to the dump.

I haven't heard of them being too invasive around here, but they do seem to have been a popular planting choice around thirty to forty years back for some reason.