Stalk Footage

The most interesting thing that happens in the garden happens almost always unseen. We gardeners almost never witness our beloved plants actually growing. For me, this fact is part of what makes gardening so much fun, and the feeling of surprise and pride I feel when I see how my plants have changed is very rewarding … whether they’ve stretched themselves, developed flowering extensions or just plain gotten altogether bigger, it always seems like a miracle. Literally, our biggest miracle took place when a century plant (agave americana) we had at our house in Long Beach grew a flower stalk and eventually bloomed. It was so sudden, and so truly awesome, that I wished I could have witnessed the miracle while it was happening. Once this agave had sent forth its enormous asparagus spear-head, it seemed to grow a foot a day, reaching a height of at least 20-feet … and, as if the super-long stalk wasn’t enough, after reaching its full height, it unfurled graceful branches that soon ended in gorgeous yellow-green flowers. Truly awe-inspiring! Well, thanks to a youtube video by user biggersbetter, I can now claim to have actually seen this miracle in action … shot at 1-hour intervals over the course of 5-months, using his “cheap” Canon camera’s intervalometer, biggersbetter was able to record an agave’s progress from stalk-beginning to blooming-end (minus night shots). Just know: this is no Hollywood production (despite ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ showtune soundtrack), and the lighting and focus can be sketchy at times. Still, I have no complaints: I feel like I’ve seen the unseen — finally! Click to the jump to share the wonder …

Thanks, biggersbetter, whoever you are, for taking the time to shoot this terrific video and for posting this footage. To echo youtube commenter norcal707gt: “Awesome agave, bro!”