Friday, February 14, 2025

A pair of drive-by gardens in San Diego; Agave / LOVE

I was at the wheel when I spied something out of the corner of my eye (on a side street), that I didn't think could possibly be real. A quick glance in the rearview mirror to make sure nobody was behind us and I stopped, put the car in reverse, and turned. Wowsa. Yep, that's what I thought I saw.

I parked and walked back to snap a couple photos. This was the far end, the border with the neighbor.

I almost feel sorry for them. They neighbors, and the agaves, of course.

What's one of the messiest trees you could have growing above a thicket of agaves? A pepper tree, Schinus molle...


I wonder how many agaves they started with?

I wonder how long they've been growing like this?

I wonder how many small animals are living under there?

Another day, another garden. I spied this grouping of pots in an alley after I'd parked the car and was going to meet Andrew at a bookstore.

At first the mix of different containers looked like a temporary installation, but the longer I looked I realized that wasn't the case. These have been here awhile.

Chicken wire protects them from... animals? Thieves?



Walking up the sidewalk (same property) I spied this through the fence... 

These hanging fern boxes (along with lattice) topped the fence.

Maybe Nephrolepis cordifolia?

I was curious about the space so did some Google Maps detective work. I got zero answers, but did get to see the space before the lattice was up, March of 2022.

And before there was even a fence, or a coat of white paint, May 2019.

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

10 comments:

  1. I can't say that I appreciate the aesthetics of that first garden but I guess the mass of agaves might be intimidating enough to put off burglars in a hurry to get in and out. It would make more sense at the back of the property or somewhere there isn't a stairway and gate. It's certainly not welcoming to visitors! My guess is that someone thought the first plants made a nice statement and the pups rapidly took over. It'd probably be brutal to remove.

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    1. Oh even the agave lover that I am I don't find that first "garden" attractive, not at all. It was more of a curiosity.

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  2. OMG, that tangle of Agave americana is a nightmare. And it all has such an innocent beginning, just a small offset from a neighbor, LOL. I see it around here all the time. Shudder.

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    1. I would love to watch a time lapse video of it. Actually I wish I'd noted the address and I could have looked it up on Google maps and seen the progress there!

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  3. Agave ground cover... not something one would consider often. Low maintenance (bordering on neglect?) has it's benefits I suppose.
    Chavli

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    1. Can you imagine looking at that everyday? I would be dying to clean it up.

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  4. I would guess they put up the chicken wire to prevent theft. If they are not very visible from the front and, on the side like that, they could be carted away, especially at night. Although the pots must be really heavy. It is too bad the homeowner of the agaves has to massacre them like that. Not a good situation with the pepper tree either.

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    1. They're in an alley, so yes, very theftable. Just drive right up and load them in.

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  5. I admit to laughing at the agaves, but also wanting to get in there and get 'em out! What a mess. The chicken wire covered pot garden is more interesting. It looks like they have zero dirt - all cement? I can sympathize with wanting green wherever I could get it. The LOVE photo looks reminds me of an entrance to a hotel lobby, I don't mean that negatively. I would've been curious and looked it up as well.

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    1. What a mess is right! Yes, the second one is all cement. To me it had a sort of "event space" vibe. Like the LOVE area was a selfie background and the potted plants could be moved around as needed to configure the space. Of course moving something that large and heavy wouldn't be easy.

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