On my way back from the Coachella music festival this past weekend, I stopped off at the Huntington Gardens to see how the *massive* Agave's bloom was doing. Of course I couldn't help but take a few shots of some other plants too. It was a blisteringly hot afternoon, and having spent the previous day in the desert sun, I didn't spend a whole lot of time taking photos. All the same, a handful turned out pretty nice...

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I love taking photos of bees! (And Aloes too ;-)

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Aloe 'Hercules' looking insanely huge because of an optical illusion. That couple is actually 20 or 30 feet behind the Aloe, but since it is all in focus, it makes the tree look super huge!

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Gorgeous color and patterns on this Agave.

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A bed of Aloes exploding with flowers!

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Color, form, and texture are all superb. Really shows the potential of succulent gardening.

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Notice the giant seed pods on the Stapelias...

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Golden barrel cacti showing where they got the name.

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As a reminder, here is the Agave mapisaga 'Lisa' I've been keeping an eye on. This photo is from last November, before the inflorescence was visible.

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In February, it had already grown to about 10 feet tall.

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Its now about 20 feet tall, and the first little branches of flowers have appeared.

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It is an incredibly imposing plant when you get near it. Completely reminds me of dinosaurs!