Monday, May 25, 2020

West Hollywood Century Cactus, 1932

Here's another of the vintage black and white photos Andrew has gifted me over the years, this one of a blooming "century cactus"...

I thought with all the local Portland excitement over Monte, the blooming Agave montana, it would be fun to see another agave blooming in the public eye. This one is in West Hollywood, CA, where it has to be much more common to see an agave to bloom than it is in Portland, OR.

More common, but the person who made notes on the back of the photo in 1932 seemed to be unfamiliar with them. Oh and by the way, an agave is not a cactus, and the idea it takes one a century to bloom is wrong, It is more like 20-25 years. Also, this poor plant has been very abused. Just look at those hacked back arms!

Weather Diary, May 24: Hi 75, Low 50/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

6 comments:

  1. Even if the info is wrong, don't you just love the idea of someone being captured by the view and taking a photo all those years ago that you now have. Plus that was during the Depression so maybe that was the big highlight of the decade for that person. Such a thoughtful gift. Gotta love a husband who knows what you will like.

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    1. Yes! And the info is the usual common misconceptions, so expected. I still remember my mother-in-law correcting the first time I called one of her plants an agave, I was told "no, that's a century plant"...

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  2. I wonder how common agaves were in the 1930s even in SoCal? Although born and raised here, I can't remember seeing agaves until sometime in adulthood.

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  3. It made a big impression on whoever took the photo. I can imagine them juggling with their thoughts on seeing it!

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    1. And of course taking a photo and getting it printed wasn't as "easy" back then either.

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