While at a Beer Club meeting, one of our more observant members pointed out an awesome plant in the vicinity. Commonly known as a “Century Plant,” this beauty was putting on a show.
I had heard of this plant and its swan song bloom, but had never taken the time to really look at it. And I’d certainly never bothered to read up on the specimen.
“Agave Americana” doesn’t actually live for a century. The lifetime of the plant is somewhere between 10 and 30 years. But here’s the kicker: the plant does flower only once, and it does indeed die after blooming.
And what a bloom! This particular flower spike was almost 30 feet high and strutting. I mean, these flowers couldn’t have been more stylin’ or profilin’. And I got the feeling the plant knew it.
I could go on and on about how, as humans, we get to bloom over and over again. And what a fantastic gift that is. And how, like the plant, maybe it’s okay for us to know when we’re at full bloom. But I won’t. Go on and on about it, that is.
Instead, I’ll just tell you I didn’t mind the Century Plant’s showy confidence. In fact, I rather appreciated it. This plant was going for it. And I gotta say, what a way to go.