neglected but thriving!

.

lovely lovely agaves!



 The ruggedness of the climate and the surrounds of many of the 

hilltop-villages throughout Italy, France, Greece and Spain

lends itself to the planting of Agaves and Yuccas.

the neighbourhood agaves

I have a soft spot for these plants....

strong, tough and resilient, they are able to cope with dry conditions,

heat, cold and neglect .




                            ...... remind you of anyone?   :)




 in pots on balconies,

beside rocky clifftop tourist paths,

and growing wild beneath crumbling stone walls,

the agave is an international survivor.






Tide's Out
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

 

I love the spiky, architectural shape of this plant...

it pops up in many of my 'Hilltop Village' paintings....







Tide's Out
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H132x132cm
H52x52ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2009
xxxx





I have even been inspired to research its shape and that

of similar drought loving plants in the local landscape....

but have you ever seen anything this magnificent?

Agave Attenuata  in flower

I saw this stunner a few minutes  from my studio.

also called 'the foxtail agave'

 .....the plant from ground to tip would have been about 6 metres long.....





but I've since discovered that this agave flowering was not a happy event....

agaves are monocarpic....

meaning they die after flowering.

no wonder I couldn't find this gorgeous beast to rephotograph a couple of months later!

I hope the elderly owner of this plant took some photos.....




maybe I'll print these and pop them in his mailbox.....it might be gone but it's not forgotten!






                                                            Jo x











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