Little yellow flowers signal resurgence for Halifax's famed agave plant

While the city gardener was starting to lose faith that it would ever bloom, little yellow flowers have budded on Halifax's famous agave plant.

Within the next couple of days, the plant affectionately dubbed Agave Maria will be in full bloom in the Public Gardens.

The Agave americana, commonly known as the century plant,grows a huge asparagus-like stalk that flowers once in a 25-year lifespan before the plant dies.

This spring, the plant was moved outdoors because it was getting too big to fit in the greenhouse.

In May, Heidi Boutilier, a horticulturalist with the municipality, said she suspected cold weather may have killed the plant before it had the chance to flower.

But people were flocking to the gardens to get a glimpse of the new buds on Thursday.

"It is absolutely amazing," said Paula Blades, who was visiting Halifax from Cape Breton. "I've been following it online. But seeing it up close, in person, is pretty amazing."

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