An Agave ovatifolia blooming in Portland...

This is a true drive-by post. As in Andrew agreed to drive by, while I stuck the camera out the window of the car. You do what you've got to do when you're working with only one leg! Those with an eagle eye might see the reason for the drive-by in this image. We'll get closer in a minute...But first I wanted to make sure you know just how agave-fabulous this garden is! I count five agaves in this section of the garden, which is pretty darn impressive.
Here's the main attraction though, a blooming Agave ovatifolia!
This house, and its plantings, may look familiar to some of you. I first photographed it last year here (even then—through the gift of hindsight—it looked like this large agave was getting ready to bloom). You can't see it in these "from the car" images, but if you click on that link you'll see there are a huge pair of agaves on either side of the sweeping staircase. One blooming, one not. 
They must have been planted at the same time. Will the other one bloom next year? It will be interesting to find out. It will also be interesting to watch this bloom unfold. Based on Pam's experience with Moby (here) I think this guy should produce dozens (if not hundreds) of bulbils on that tall bloom spike.
The rest of the garden deserves a look since we're here. Against the house on the righthand side...
And on the left...
Pulling back a little further you can even see tomato cages. This house is in a neighborhood that appears to pride itself on the quality of manicured lawns. These folks are definitely setting a new kind of standard and I love it.
There are more agaves on this side as well. A baby ovatifolia...
And a few more planted below the Yucca rostrata...
I count at least three, maybe four. This is going to be a fun garden to watch...