Barry’s Agaves

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

Over the weekend my friend Barry opened his garden up to public viewing and for something special, brought most of his impressive agave collection down from a third floor balcony and into the yard for viewing. It’s not just that Barry has assembled this collection, but that he grew many of these large plants from seed! Perhaps not such a difficult feat in a southern climate, but here in the North that means years of shifting spiny plants indoors and out, and months of coddling under lights and in sunny windows through the winter.

I walked around the table with my cellphone and shot a little video of the plants. If I had to choose a favourite, I think it would be the one that has black leaf margins and spines. But only under duress since there are several others that are just unbearably pretty. The white one in the centre of the arrangement is pretty impressive too. And the little one with the very thin leaves….

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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10 thoughts on “Barry’s Agaves

  1. What a beautiful collection! Amazing that a lot of them are from seed. I agree, hard to pick a fav.. I think if I had to though the little green one on the bottom left of your photo would be my fav, it’s such a pretty colour and I love the striped leaves.

    I like the walk around video!

  2. Wow – that is impressive!

    I have been growing a mystery cactus that I started from seed about 6 or so years ago. It is finally the size of my thumb. I can definitely respect the amount of time and patience Barry has probably put into growing his plants.

  3. I wanted to add a third comment under the name “Megan”. :)

    These are really beautiful. I *love* that greenish pot that’s mixed in there! Lovely. And from seed! Wow.

  4. Wow, Barry must have some vibrant green thumbs. Beautiful plants. I hope the garden open up again sometime.

  5. Barry’s got some amazing plants! Thanks to him for sharing them with us all!
    My snake plant flowered for me this year – to the surprize & amazement of all my neighbours & it was quite a sight to behold. Currently my hoya is going nuts with blooms (only took 6 years…). Houseplants require such patience!

  6. Just beautiful! I’ve got a small collection of assorted cacti, including a cereus that just bloomed again (only took 2 years for the first bloom) – but nothing from seed. Great, great plants!

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