Corona del Mar: million $$$ ocean views and agaves
When we were in Southern California last week, our daughter took us to one of her favorite spots: Inspiration Point in Corona del Mar. It offers breathtaking views of Corona del Mar State Beach, but that's not the only thing to look at: The houses lining the street are pretty impressive, too, especially this one:
It looks like it has four levels, with priceless views of the beach and the ocean. I can't even imagine what it must be like to live there.
As focused as I initially was on the views and the houses, my attention quickly shifted—surprise, surprise—to this:
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| Agave americana |
Agaves are like catnip to me, especially when they send up massive flower stalks—and even more so when the backdrop is so gorgeous:
In addition to Agave americana, which has pretty much become naturalized in parts of California, I quickly spotted other species that had clearly been planted:
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| Agave attenuata 'Ray of Light' |
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| Agave 'Blue Glow', variegated Agave desmetiana, and golden barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) |
A short walk from the viewpoint proper brought me to this vista:
An entire hillside densely packed with aloes, agaves, and aeoniums! I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it on a public street.
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| The blue-green agaves with upright strappy leaves look to a variegated form of Agave tequilana |
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| More Agave tequilana on the hillside across from the house above |
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| With so many agaves, the odds are high that several of them might be in flower at any given time |
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| Agave attenuata looking a bit like alien creatures waiting for a signal from outer space |
What a spectacular spot this is. I can see why my daughter comes here to unwind and clear her head. And I were an agave, I'd want to live here!
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The photo of the Agave flower stalk with nothing but blue sea and sky for background is cropped to perfections. I like that white double streak in the water, maybe left by a speed boat.
ReplyDeleteConsidering California's prolonged drought condition and water restrictions, the planting in the neighborhood is the only sensible thing: they must be water wise or die of thirst.
Chavli
Yes, the blur was from a speedboat. What a beautiful scene it was!
DeleteSpectacular spot. So wonderful to see all of these drought tolerant street plantings instead of the usual water guzzlers. Ahhh to have a such beautiful blue water to swim in during our heat wave.
ReplyDeleteYes! Southern California has made great strides when it comes to water-wise landscaping.
DeleteBefore you expend the effort to imagine what it is to live in the seaside 4-story, first you must imagine the price tag on that property. Then, you should make a trip to the market to buy a Mega Millions Lotto ticket - I understand that the jackpot is currently over $1.5B so, after taxes, you might be able to buy that house ;) The stunning succulent-planted slope is what my neighborhood's smaller community garden could only hope to be.
ReplyDeleteI did buy a ticket for Tuesday's drawing but darn, I didn't win. I looked up that house on Zillow; it's valued at a cool $14 million. I could buy a lot of succulents for that!
DeleteHahaha I love that on contemplating winning the lottery, your immediate thought was buying succulents! ;)
DeleteFor $14 million, I'd want a much, much bigger garden.
ReplyDeleteA co-worker I knew at one time owned one of the homes in photo #8: "An entire hillside densely packed..." It was a staggering sum when they bought it in the '60's--like 100K. They scraped and sacrificed and did without for a long time to get it...just regular working people. Now worth about 100 times that.
I agree! I don't think there's much room for a garden, other than the area at street level.
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