Bee Happy at Throop Learning Garden in Pasadena

Bee’s friend at Throop Learning Garden in Pasadena (Photo – George Patton).

Bee Happy! Permaculturist and Master Gardener George Patton took the above photo of the delicate wildflower commonly called bee’s friend (phacelia tanecetafolia) in full riot on the Los Robles side of Throop Learning Garden in Pasadena.

By Thom Hawkins

You’ll see many more dancing bees among the purple blossoms of bee’s bliss sage thickly spread under and around the fruit trees on Del Mar. The white evening primroses near the corner of Los Robles and Del Mar are blooming, soon to be joined by several burgeoning yellow primroses.

Scores more bees in the raised beds; they prefer the yellow flowers of the wild arugula, but also like the purple blooms of the black basil next-door. Pollinators are buzzing about the Spanish lavender under the apricots and the nearby stand of French lavender reaching almost six feet next to the Bee Hotel. Also blooming under the apricot is rue–take a whiff of the yellow blossoms for an intriguing medieval experience. California poppies are popping everywhere like orange firecrackers. Smell the first apple blossoms and imagine life as a bee.

Bee Hotel at Throop Learning Garden (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net).

The strawberries are flowering against the church wall with new fruits turning red. About a dozen fruits are showing on the nectarine, and the first, ultra-tiny olives have appeared facing the front steps.

With a full rainwater storage tank and freshly rain-soaked soil, all is becoming possible. New leaves are emerging on the grapevines, the pomegranate, and the olive tree. The sunflowers are growing well, and the sweet pea volunteers are surging in leaps and bounds. See if you can find the volunteer butternut squash plant that is producing many new fruits among the thorny rose bushes out front.

The ruby red mustard (Photo – W.K.).

George is planting greens: arugula, bunching green onions, garlic chives, renegade spinach, red giant mustard, yukina savoy, mustard, magenta lettuce, miner’s lettuce and Portuguese collards.

For the past three weeks, gardeners have been harvesting and sharing their prolific ruby red mustard, so it’s time to give them a rest. These flamers started life at the garden when a bird dropped a seed that the late January Nordman nurtured, then collected the new seeds. George planted them after she passed away this December. January’s love lives on! The garden blooms in many ways.

Thom Hawkins was a staff writing instructor at UC Berkeley for twenty-two years and has published books and articles about teaching, as well as short fiction and poetry. He’s currently preparing his first poetry chapbook, “Wild Decrepitudes,” that will be available later this year. George Patton contributed to this article.