I'm sharing a few shots of a Sempervivum flower from this past summer, still standing in its little planting niche in the recycled concrete wall in the front garden. In Latin Sempervivum means "always living." For the most part that's true of these wonderful little succulent plants. They require little but good drainage and some sun, and they stay pretty much the same from year to year, producing offsets, till they decide to flower. They're monocarpic, which means once they flower, they die.
They're also called hens and chicks, and houseleeks, and according to Wikipedia, they are associated with the Norse god Thor, and the Roman god Jupiter, leading to common names like thunder beard and Jupiter's beard. That common name Jupiter's beard is one reason why it's better to use Latin names than common, because Centranthus ruber is also called Jupiter's beard.
Anna at Flutter and Hum hosts Wednesday Vignette. Check out her post here.