When Lois Sparks of Clanton received a gift from her son Terry on March 1, 2005, she had no idea the gift would eventually grow to be 33 feet tall.

“It was meant to be a gift that would make me happy,” Sparks said. “I remember when Terry brought me the small potted plant he said he wanted me to have it because he knew I would enjoy it.”

Standing in the driveway of her cozy brick home off Enterprise Road, Sparks has watched for the last three weeks as her son’s gift, a Century Plant, bloomed.

“When I planted this thing I had no idea it would grow to be this tall,” Sparks, 76, said. “I thought for sure I would probably never see it bloom and then one day a few weeks ago I looked out my window and it bloomed.”

The common association with a Century Plant is that it takes 100 years for the plant to bloom, but typically the plant can bloom after 10-30 years.

Petals from the Past owner Jason Powell said the Century Plant is an Agave Americana that usually grows in the Southwest due to the high drought tolerance.

“It is pretty phenomenal to look at especially in places like the South because you just don’t see them that often,” Powell said. “After it finishes blooming it will leave a stalk that literally looks like a spear.”

Terry found the plant from a woman living in Chilton County who had a Century Plant growing in her yard.

Terry repeatedly drove by the plant and eventually asked the woman if he could have one of the buds to give to Sparks.

“When Terry brought me the plant it was in a small little pot and looked like a household cactus,” Sparks said.

After Sparks and Terry planted the plant with “loving care and two buckets of dirt,” Terry and Sparks would often joke about if they would ever see the plant bloom.

In January, Terry, 54, unexpectedly passed away and Sparks was left with memories of her son and a once in a lifetime bloom.

“I can’t help but look at the plant and think of Terry,” Sparks said. “He would never believe in a million years that I actually got to see it bloom.”

After motorists traveling along the road in front of Sparks’ home noticed the unusual height and look of the tree, word spread and the last few weeks have been abuzz with people calling and stopping by to find out more information about the unusual plant.

“People have stopped by from all over Alabama and I have been getting calls from people who live all around asking me about it,” Sparks said. “I even had someone from Florida who stopped by to take pictures of it because they had never seen anything like this.”

The bottom portion of the plant has sharp, razor like stems resembling a cactus with a few small buds growing on the sharp ends.

The flower stalk towers overhead with yellow flowers at the top that will only bloom once before the plant dies.

“The hummingbirds love it,” Sparks said. “The rain does not. We have had so much rain and when the wind blows the stalk just moves back and forth and I have been so worried it was going to fall down.

Although Sparks has enjoyed sharing the unusual tree with curious people, she enjoys it the most because of her memories of Terry.

“I look around my yard and especially at that plant and I can’t help but think that Terry is looking down seeing the beautiful blooms,” Sparks said.

Due to the close proximity of Spark’s plant to a power line, Sparks and her husband Chester will tear down the plant and attempt to plant one of the small buds growing on the current plant with hopes another plant might grow.

“I doubt I will live to see another one bloom but hopefully someone will have the opportunity to see it if I don’t,” Sparks said. “It truly is beautiful and I still can’t believe it actually bloomed.”