The denizens of the South Pasadena Community Garden on Magnolia Street were having a potluck dinner last Saturday and I wandered over to see how the harvest was going.
Silly me.
It’s always harvest time for something in Southern California — and for many of the gardeners who tend one of the 42 plots which have sprouted from a previously empty Caltrans lot.
In fact, I was told the garden is in transition about now, with many gardeners preparing beds for winter crops which might include peas, radishes and spinach just to name a few.
Each of the plots has its own style, and I guess reflects the interests of those who tend them.
Let’s just say everyone I talked to took pride both in their own plot and the collective garden.
Karen Veitch, who is one of the original founders of the garden in 2015, pointed me to her plot and noted that her kale — still stretching skyward — has done particularly well this year.
Tomatoes were still growing in abundance and had been doing well most of the summer.
“We had a slow start this year,” admitted Lorrie Dieckmann. “We had a lot of rain early in the year and it was a very cool spring. Then we had June gloom in May.
“But overall, it was great for my tomatoes.”
One man told me that he had his best pepper season ever, but peppers need heat, although it was still hot enough — 87 degrees as I was writing this column — that peppers were still to be seen.
And oh, the flowers.
Dahlias of all colors and roses. And the sunflowers stood tall. Everywhere I looked there was something to see.
I learned about loofahs, which are a member of the gourd family, and — when dried and peeled — can act as natural sponges. These too seemed to be growing in abundance.
Dieckmann, who also was one of the original gardeners, took me on a tour, showing me the wonders of the place and some of the misses as well as the successes. For example, there is a dead plum tree which replaced a dead apple tree.
And the potato beds apparently weren’t planted properly, Dieckmann said, and were nothing to brag about.
There are a few varieties which are planta-non-grata — including lavender and mint which tend to get out of hand and spread if not eliminated.
But there are so many other success stories. The garden is the site where Scout merit badges are planned, plotted and bloom. There were monarch butterfly houses and herb beds — courtesy of the Scouts, and also a kids’ garden where toy dinosaurs flourished along with the potted strawberry plants.
There was a mural by 90-year-old Anita Scott who is also doing the artistry for a seed box, which will be a library project beginning early next year. She also painted a mural that decorates a garden wall.
I have to say, there is almost as much to read and artistry to admire as there are plants to eat.
And speaking of plants, whatever is left over is sent each week to the food bank at the nearby St. James Episcopal Church.
There are more people who want to be members than there are plots — although the garden just added three more spaces —thanks, I was told, to former Councilwoman Diana Mahmud.
Annual dues are $120, and there is a deposit of $40 to apply. Gardeners are required to attend a monthly community day, which might include sharing gardening tips, workshops or social activities. Garden members also participate in activities with groups such as the South Pasadena Public Library and South Pasadena Beautiful.
Only South Pasadena residents are allowed to apply at the current time, and you can read all about the program at southpasadenacommunitygarden.org.
The website is calming all by itself, with members leaving messages, which must have been easy to compose.
“This garden has become our saving grace. During the pandemic, it was the only outlet we had,” wrote Jennifer P.
“Having a plot in the community garden has been extremely rewarding,” said Keith Novak, who was taking photos at the event. “Watching a garden grow and harvesting the fruits of your labor is very satisfying.
“Vegetable gardening has been a part of my family for as long as I can remember. There is something quite magical about putting a seed in the ground, watching it sprout, tending to it, helping it grow, flower and fruit.”
And what I noticed was that everyone greeted me with a warm welcome and “won’t you stay to have something to eat?” I guess friendship blooms and flourishes among those who work the soil.
There are handicapped-accessible plots if need be. Even the people seem to be well-tended. You have to be 18 to be a resident gardener, but that doesn’t mean that some youngsters haven’t been a presence with their parents, and were enjoying the feast.
Veitch told me that she and her husband have a garden in their backyard and another one at the community garden. She rationalized that every garden needs some veterans to help the newbies along the road to success.
It is great to have a poet laureate around when you are trying to capture the true nature of gardens, and thankfully South Pasadena’s Ron Koertge suggested several poems.
I chose British author Rudyard Kipling’s “The Glory of the Garden” to finish with a flourish.
And some can pot begonias and some can bed a rose
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows.
But they can roll and trim the lawn and sift the sand and lawn
For the glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.
First published in the October 20 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
