Get to Know South Pasadena Community Garden

Get to Know a Garden: South Pasadena

The South Pasadena Community Garden at 1028 Magnolia Street is an example of persistence, creativity, and volunteership. On May 14th, South Pasadena Community Garden participated in the Eclectic Music Festival featuring the bands Picture Show,Lagoonatix and a flatfoot dancer, Rebecca Stout. Folks of all ages enjoyed live music among the sunflowers, green onions, swiss chard, and strawberries. The land was formerly assigned as a staging lot for the 710 Freeway extension and now boasts 33 beds with 6 more in the works. What makes this garden unique is not only what they have physically built in a year but also how rapidly they have inspired their community.

The South Pasadena Community Garden has a momentum that is stoked by their dedicated founding members Marianne, Kathy, Michelle, Margie, Lorrie, Pat, and Janet. Outreach and community involvement are integral to the Garden’s development. On their first work day they were able to recruit about 80 volunteers. Currently a local Boy Scout, Owen Pratt, volunteered to fundraise and build a compost bin as his project to become an Eagle Scout. The garden’s potential is inspiring locals to tap into their innovation and creativity.

The next phases include: laying-down decomposed granite for wheelchair accessibility; a milkweed project to track butterfly migration by local Girl Scouts; workshops and plant sales; and a City funded project to include a bike rack, donated kinetic sculpture, water feature, and shade structure. Community gardeners are also participating in the South Pasadena 4th of July parade. Last year, they dressed up as vegetables and carried signs with puns like “Give Peas a Chance”. It’ll be great to see how they reflect the garden’s strong presence in the city this year!

The South Pasadena Garden is an inspiration and we encourage you to see it for yourself at their next volunteer day, Saturday, July 9th!

By Cerrina Tayag-Rivera