Deb this is a good question! For me personally I don't fully know, agree with both Paul and Connie - I do like that they need less water. I like knowing some history about them in Europe and England. But it is almost like a spell...I've lived in Seattle for 30+ years, and some of the places I see semps planted look like they have been there nearly that long, and I never noticed them much until noticing them!!! It is wild! Shortly after I began seeing them around I saw several in a patch blooming and I was like "What the heck plant is that such a fat bloom stalk" walked over for a closer look and it was semps...made me like them even more, but also, I totally agree with you that in some ways they are nothing grand or special, and that makes me enjoy them too! I did read that in europe they had at one time been called 'Witches wheels' and I'm like yep, totally! They have me bedazzled! I actually ask friends can I use space in your yard to expand my semp collection...at no time in my life would I have ever done that - and they said Yes and are totally happy to have these things outside their diningroom window! it is crazy but also inspiring! At the same time I've been getting into other succulents, so it isn't just semps, but semps have my interest the most! One other quick story...I needed to move a bed so asked a friend to help me, he owed me a favor so reluctantly said 'ok' and we began picking up semps and bagging and labeling them, at the beginning he kept saying, how can you possible tell them apart, but then I'd point out very minor differences, by the end he became a semp lover haha, so there is a part that is contagious!
