Thar she blows! Whale’s Tongue agave for Foliage Follow-Up

January 16, 2012


Looking out my window as I type this, I see Moby, my great whale of an agave—Agave ovatifolia, to be precise—caught in the morning sunlight. His structural, rose-like form is a matte, pale green that looks whitewashed in strong sunlight. But Moby can be moody, as in the image above, shadowy and menacing, with a wash of blue from the nearby bottle tree coloring his flukes.

Do you have any moody foliage to show off today for Foliage Follow-Up? Join me in posting about your lovely leaves of January for Foliage Follow-Up, a way to remind ourselves of the importance of foliage in the garden. Just leave a comment here with a link to your foliage post, and please include a link to Digging in your post. If you can’t post so soon after Bloom Day, no worries. Just leave your link when you get to it.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

25 responses to “Thar she blows! Whale’s Tongue agave for Foliage Follow-Up”

  1. David says:

    Hi Pam,
    Yes, that whale is worth catchng for the garden. I’ve still not seen one in Houston….yet! Maybe I’ll be the first! For now, I’ve got a couple of other agaves in my Foliage Follow-up for January. My GBBD and FF are combined this month. Thanks for hosting. :0)
    http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2012/01/january-day-for-gbbd-surprise.html

  2. Lucy Abbott says:

    Hi Pam, I love the agave. What a specimen! I can see why he has his own name and it is well deserved. Here is a link to my current foliage favorites. http://www.lucysinthegarden.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-up.html Thanks for hosting Foliage Follow-Up!

    Your January picks really sparkle and shine. I love silvery and variegated plants too. Thanks for joining in! —Pam

  3. Layanee says:

    That is one beautiful whale.

  4. Tina says:

    I like the play of shadows on your agave–very drama queen-ish! I don’t know if any of my examples qualify as moody, but here’s my contribution to Foliage Follow-up. Good winter gardening! http://mygardenersays.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/foliage-follow-up-january-2012-a-bit-of-this-a-bit-of-that/

  5. commonweeder says:

    I don’t have very dramatic foliage, but I do have tales of my experience with various plants. Thanks for Foliage Follow-up. http://www.commonweeder.com/2012/01/16/foliage-follow-up-january-2012/

  6. Scott Weber says:

    Oh Pam…I think of all the Agaves I’ve seen…the Whale’s Tongue is certainly one of the most beautiful…love your creative lighting for this shot 😉

  7. I so envy you that plant, Pam!! And, yes, I do have some moody foliage (sort of!) to share today: http://jocelynsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-up-1162012.html

  8. Moby sure is moody in that picture — he looks almost menacing. Interesting how the weather can completely change the tone of the garden.

  9. Can’t imagine a nicer morning view! Ours is suddenly snowy but I snipped a foliage bouquet before the snow fell. http://eachlittleworld.typepad.com/each_little_world/2012/01/foliage-follow-up-01162012.html

  10. Every time you post about your Whale’s Tongue I get a mental picture of you moving that thing. I still don’t know how you didn’t end up in the hospital.

    I’m cheating a little for this FF, and staying indoors: http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-up-cryptanthus.html

  11. Moby looks great in moody blue or any other light.

    Today I focused on mottled succulent foliage

    http://rockoakdeer.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-up-january-2012.html

  12. Caroline says:

    Loved your photo of Moby adorned in war paint! Here’s my moody winter offering: http://shovelreadygarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-up-january-2012.html Thanks for hosting Foliage Follow-Up!

  13. I’ve not named my plants, except to make fun of some I don’t like too much, who hold back desert horticulture. But perhaps I need to give some of my plants affectionate names? I like your Moby, though to me, he looks more soothing than moody. And a bunch of posts I now have to check out…..

    My take – http://desertedge.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-up-112.html

  14. Hi Pam – Love the blue reflection from the bottles on the Agave. Beautiful plant!
    Here is my January Foliage post: http://www.thegardeningblog.co.za/gardening/january-foliage/
    Thanks for hosting!

  15. I love Moby. He’s still a stunner.

    Thanks for hosting Foliage Follow-Up. But for the foliage, my garden would be quite sad. Here’s my offering:
    http://patchworkgarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-follow-upjanuary-2011.html

    Now, I need to go check out some others.

  16. Denise says:

    Well, call me Ishmael! He’s even bigger than I remember! I don’t dare unleash my little potted whale’s tongue agave on the garden.
    Thanks for letting us play, Pam. http://agrowingobsession.com/?p=25915

  17. andrea says:

    Wow, i love the color and size of that agave, i hope we can still be able to wait for its bloom, which might still take many years from now! I have not joined this foliage follow-up link yet. I wonder if it is better if we can also see the meme thumbnails in Mr Linky’s just like in other meme links, e.g. GBBD, Today’s Flowers, Fertilizer Friday, etc. This is just a suggestion as it is really lovely seeing those participants with all their post thumbnails at the end of your post. Happy New Year!

    I’ve been lazy about looking up how to use Mr. Linky, Andrea, but I will keep it in mind for next time. Thanks for the suggestion. –Pam

  18. Ally says:

    One of these days I’m going to plant my own “Moby”. Of course, I’ll have to name mine Shamu or Big Blue. Afterall, there can only be one Moby 🙂

    I found a surprising amount of foliage in the garden today. Here’s my foliage follow-up: http://gardenally.blogspot.com/2012/01/foliage-followup-winter-interest.html

  19. I love all the agaves that you grow. This one looks like the keeper of that spot. It belongs there, and is not going to allow anything else to take over. I didn’t read your request for something moody before putting my post up. As usual, I put a bunch of photos on my post.

    Here’s my link:

    http://acornergarden.blogspot.com/2012/01/lots-of-foliage.html

  20. Amy says:

    Love the drama of that agave, all sharp-tongued and shadowed. So nice to have the space for such a showstopper. I’m a little late, but here’s some foliage from my little patch of Austin. http://waitingforplumeria.blogspot.com/2012/01/late-foliage-follow-up-january-2012.html

    There’s such drama in your first image as well, Amy. Love the kitty too. Thanks for joining in. —Pam

  21. Hi Pam, joining in a little late, but wanted to share a little foliage in my January garden. Thanks for hosting!! That agave is spectacular!

    http://signaturegardens.blogspot.com/2012/01/blooms-among-foliage.html

  22. Frances says:

    Hi Pam, you do Agaves like no one else! Moby is a looker in all seasons, for certain. I do love this meme, foliage is all important in any garden at any time of year. Here is my post for January:
    January Foliage Followup

  23. Adrian Reyes says:

    Pam where did you get the galvanized “pillar” planters. I wanted to get some for my yard. Thanks.

    Adrian

    I found the culvert-pipe remnants in an ad on Craigslist, Adrian. —Pam

  24. Pam: I know I’m late, but I hope it’s OK I’m joining in today. This is a great meme, and one of my goals this year is to join you most months. I just have to plan ahead a little better. The Agave is quite impressive! My post: http://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2012/01/from-heavens-to-earth.html