A New Garden Is Coming to Pasadena

A new native plant garden is planned for the Jackie Robinson post office at Washington and Mentor in Pasadena (Photo – Staff).

As Pasadena residents have become increasingly concerned about sustainability, groups such as Transition Pasadena have been key in helping people understand the importance of using plants that are tolerant of dry conditions.

By Rebekah Seeger

A new native plant garden is planned for the Jackie Robinson post office (located at Washington and Mentor in Pasadena). This project was proposed by the community, and has received enthusiastic support from the USPS, the Theodore Payne Foundation, and the city of Pasadena.

The idea for this particular project originated after the Theodore Payne Foundation established a garden across the street from the post office. The post office’s former garden beds, full of weeds, caught the attention of the gardeners. They noticed some of the trees were dying. They felt the location should be beautiful, instead of looking neglected.

A native plant garden is planned at Washington and Mentor in Pasadena (Photo – Staff).

Therese Brummel explained to Colorado Boulevard some of the benefits of this project:

Gardens are a place of visual rest and joy and can become community focal points and gathering places. They can be inspiring and educational for kids and adults.

Building community very locally increases happiness and human relationships that can be lasting, and can be resources when times are tough.

Local residents came together on a community-based social-networking site and reached out to the USPS. The community has come together to support this project in a big way. Hahamongna Nursery has agreed to donate plants; the City Water Conservation Program will provide a consultant; the City Free Mulch program will deliver mulch.

Volunteers are still needed, both to donate materials and to establish the garden. The work date for this project is October 22, 2016.

We will keep following up and keep you posted.

> Interested readers can contact Therese Brummel here for volunteering details.

Rebekah Seeger is a writer and Pasadena resident. She loves a good story, and her curiosity has taken her all over the map. She’s been writing forever, it’s hard to think of a time when she wasn’t writing. She dabbles in acting, likes vegetable gardening, dogs, and sports.