Cool blues and greens
August 07, 2008
On hot summer days, the cool blue of the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia ) gives me a feeling of refreshment. It’s a restful break from the hotter colors of salvia, penstemon, and black-eyed Susan in bloom right now.
I wonder if the anole feels the same way. He must have just leapt onto the agave because he’s still wearing his brown skin. But look—his feet are already beginning to turn green.
Here’s another cooling, watery vignette created from frosted, green glass in a birdbath.
Ahhh!
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I really like this agave Pam and am very glad to see it is still thriving in your garden after the bad bug scare earlier this year! The blue green coloring with the spines is pretty cool!
Me too, Gail! I would hate to lose it. I just love its color and smooth, skin-like texture. —Pam
Hi Pam,
That’s a real soothing color! Loved the anole too!
Thanks, Kanak. —Pam
Amazing photos. Ah . . .
Thank you, Dee. —Pam
Your photos are always a treat, thanks Pam. While I love your agave and anole, the green glass in the birdbath is my fave. I looked online for glass shards and found some good sites, but the expense holds me back. Wish I could find some locally, for cheap!
Do you know where I got these glass chips, Frances? At the discount store Garden Ridge. I’ve seen similar ones more recently at Hobby Lobby. Hope you can find some, but I think green or blue cat’s-eye marbles would also be cool. —Pam
I love your agave. I also love the cute little anole on it. We don’t have anole here in CA but we do have lizards. (-: The green glass in the bird bath looks very nice too(-:
Thanks, Cindee. Aren’t lizards fun to watch? And unlike hummingbirds, they’ll often hold still for a photo op. —Pam
Pam – that agave shot is stunning. Do you also post at Flickr? I really like the idea of the green glass in the bird bath. Very cooling. Hey, I thought Austin was going to get dumped on by Hurricane Edouard? Any drops?
Thanks, Billy. No, I don’t post anywhere but here. As for Edouard, his name is mud. We hoped for an inch or two, but my garden got zilch. The drought saga continues. —Pam
Pam your photos are so wonderful…I feel cooler already. Dumb question tho’ do you not use your bird bath our do you have multiple? Keep digging!
I’m glad that you feel cooler, ELK! No dumb questions here, so fire away. No, I don’t use this bird bath because it’s in full sun and dries out too quickly to bother keeping it filled. The birds can bathe in the stock-tank pond in my back yard, however, which has a rock ledge at the edge for avian baths. —Pam
Your photographs are lovely. I don’t know how you manage to get such great shots of lizards. Maybe they are not as shy as the ones around my house–cats, you know! 😉
Thank you, Jenny. These anoles are total hams. They hold still so long as you move slowly, and they don’t mind having their picture made. My daughter finds them easy to catch, so doubtless a cat would too. —Pam
I see now why the blues and greens work so well in your garden!
We take our coolness where we can in this climate, Carol. —Pam
I can’t get over all the critters running around your yard. Since I just moved to Austin from Wisconsin – and am trying to start a garden in all the heat – I’m consistently surprised by how settled and cooling your pictures are. Thanks!
Hi, Travis, and welcome to Austin. I’m sure it’s pretty different gardening here than in Wisconsin, but Austin gardening has its own considerable pleasures—once summer is over! Have fun, and happy digging. —Pam
I just love that pic of the Whales Tongue. Beautiful – great photography!
Many thanks, Laurie. —Pam
love the green glass detail against the rough texture of the bird bath! very creative shot.
Did I read somewhere that an Anole in a “brown” state, is in a state of personal stress?
ESP.
I have not heard that about the anoles. I thought they colored according to their need for disguise. I wonder. —Pam
Pam, that is probably the best Agave picture I’ve ever seen. What a beautiful shot! Like you, I love blues and cool greens in the garden; right now I just sit and enjoy my lavender Plumbago and try to avoid looking at the hot desolation everywhere else. I got some beach glass at a big sale at Pottery Barn; I bought bucket loads of it because I’m planning a mosaic with some of it, and I did put some in a pot similar to yours. Because of the cool blues and turquoise colors, its one of the few other things I enjoy in my yard right now!
Robin at Getting Grounded
Thanks for the kind compliment, Robin. Your blue and turquoise beach glass sounds very cooling to look at. —Pam
I’m glad you’re at least enjoying some cool, soothing colors, Pam. Your photo makes me want to stroke the Agave to feel the ‘skin’ 🙂
It would be neat to watch the anole change color.
We’ve had thunderstorms almost every day it seems, with more predicted today. I wish we could send you some rain and cooler temps. While you wish for October, I dread the thought of it, and wish the summer weather would stretch on for months!
Your salvia is gorgeous in the previous post, and I love the alien look of the passionflower.
If you were here, I would certainly invite you to stroke that agave, Kerri. While the spikes must be respected, the texture of the skin is actually quite smooth and pleasant. They are full of contradictions, these agaves. I know that October produces feelings of dread for some northern gardeners, as May may for gardeners here in Texas. However, with your gorgeous, firey burst of color in fall, I’m surprised you don’t look forward to it all year. 🙂 —Pam
Wow the photos are amazing. My grandmother used to collect sea glass walking along the shores of Lake Erie and I always think of her when I see it. I couldn’t help being a little disappointed to see it bagged in stores when I think of how much time she spent collecting it (but that didnt’ stop me from buying some!)
JGH, we collected sea glass while in Maine this summer, and for me the hunt was half the fun. We also saw “sea” glass (tumbled glass) in stores, but when I asked about it they said the real thing is more expensive and valuable. I had a hard time telling the difference though.
On marbles, etc., someone at work got these big bags of large glass stones/marbles in the crafts area at Walmart–for a buck! They’re beautiful! Don’t know if they still have them, but I keep trying to remember to nab some. Thanks for the Garden Ridge & Hobby Lobby tip, too!
Thank you for the marble tip, Linda. Glass and marbles make beautiful, colorful “mulch” for potted rock-garden plants like agaves and succulents. —Pam
Fantastic photos! They do look cool, even if it isn’t really.
Thanks, MMD. —Pam
Is this the plant you have in your front yard? Because I was telling someone today I’d love to have the one Pam at Digging has in her front yard! I live in Tyler. Do you know where I might find one, or where to order online?
Brenda
Yes, it’s the same one, Brenda. I’ve seen this agave for sale at Barton Springs Nursery in the past, though I haven’t looked lately. I’ve also seen it for sale online at Plant Delights and San Marcos Growers. —Pam
Oooo! I’m going to copy the glass in the birdbath, Pam.
Go for it, Mother Nature! Take a picture and send me the link when you do. I’d love to see your version. —Pam
The detail on the anole is wonderful. One day we watched as one changed from brown to green in a matter of seconds. Research suggested that it could be caused by stress.
You’re the second commentor to mention the stress theory. I didn’t know that. Poor little guy. I feel stressed in the garden too when it’s this hot! 😉 —Pam
That agave is breathtakingly beautiful. Can you recommend a source for it?
Cindy, Ive seen it for sale online at Plant Delights and San Marcos Growers. —Pam
Beautiful post, Pam. I just love agaves and have three teeny ones growing on the south side of our house, just planted this year, purchased from High Country Gardens. I hope someday they’ll be BIG! Are they fast growers? Well, they might be where you are, but here they have a short growing season, in comparison.
I hope they grow well for you, Kylie! Generally agaves are quite slow growing, but where they receive supplemental water (as in a garden) they can sometimes grow much faster. Just be sure to give them very sharp drainage if they get more water than in a desert. And yes, I expect your shorter growing season will slow them down too. They’re worth the wait for that exquisite form and texture though. —Pam