Drove by a house today that has a pair of majestic century plants going into bloom, one on either side of their driveway.
They say these agaves bloom, and then die, after 100 years. Google sez it takes more like 20-40 years. Either way, it’s a sight to see.
Both of these must have been planted when the home was first built about 35 years ago.
Ooooo-weee it’s hot out. We’ve had a number of 100+ degree days. There is no escaping it. I shudder to think what the rest of the summer holds for record heat, record drought.
I happily did as little as possible today – a mental health day, so to speak.
This is a shot of the neighbor’s century plant, that I first posted about last month, now in bloom. I intentionally took it into the sun, hoping to get a nice silhouette. I like the color of the sky here.
Can’t you just hear the ground sizzling in this shot?
The neighbors two houses down have a huge agave plant in their front yard. It has been there for about 40 years. It is also known as a century plant, because it blooms once in its lifetime. It takes so much energy to put up a stalk this size that it saps all the life out of the plant, and after it blooms, the plant dies.
We have always admired this agave because it is so huge. This is a shot of the remarkable stalk that is growing out of the middle of the plant. To get a sense of scale, note the power line at the right of the frame – it is at least as tall as the power line now, and still has more to grow.
It’s an amazing thing to witness. I’m sure the bloom will be a sight to see.
All of a sudden I have a craving for asparagus 🙂
Sheila365 