Updates

Five months after I first reported on it, the agave/century plant at the Botanical Gardens is getting ready to bust out with what I hope will be some really stinky blooms. (Monstrous plants like this always have disgustingly foul efflorescences, right?) It survived some single digit temps in April, and now it's blooming right when it should, giving people a reason to come to the gardens when they don't need (or maybe even want) the heat of the greenhouses. Exciting! I'm sure this sort of thing is old hat to many of you, but I'm psyched.

The news on our endangered street tree is not so good. My email did elicit some advocacy from friends and neighbors, but the arborist who inspected it is sticking to his guns. I feel the rush to judgment is at least partially due to fear that the funds will not be available next year if it does turn out the tree is too far gone. But that is just incredible from the looks of it. It's also funny the way someone—I have no idea who!—keeps ripping down the sign that indicates the tree is on the death list. They need it because it is also meant to stop anyone from parking in front of it, thus blocking the equipment. I love silver maples—so much more distinguished looking than the Norway maples.