Well it used to be the same family as the asparagus, so I guess that makes sense.
That's the Pacific Ocean. Most of these agaves grow within sight of the ocean. I think they really like the fog and the breeze.
We experience an annual summer drought (zero rain), and it's always sort of amazing to me to see these plants shoot up their stalks in the fall with the water reserves they saved up from the winter several months before. Not a lot of agaves bloom in the winter but that's prime time for this one. My favorite.