.png)
News provided by South Pasadena Beautiful
Five residences are the recipients of South Pasadena Beautiful’s 2022 Golden Arrow Awards chosen by the SPB Board of Directors from public nominations. These homeowners are recognized for their outstanding job of maintaining their properties with plantings that benefit our local birds, bees, and other pollinators, all while conserving water. Visit our website for full descriptions and plant lists of the gardens and to be inspired to create your own water-wise garden.
Lacey and Tim Gostony wanted to turn their yard at 714 Fremont Avenue into a beautiful, water-wise garden that would inspire the thousands of people driving past each day. They collaborated with John Trager, Curator of Desert Collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens and Pedro Frias (and crew), an expert gardener also employed at the Huntington, provided the installation. The main sidewalk is flanked by lavender (Lavandula ‘dentata’) and rock purslane (Calandrinia spectabilis). Russelia equisetiformis ‘Coral plant’ and Saliva greggi provide plenty of tasty snacks for hummingbirds. A unique 7′ tall stone cactus fountain provides a place for birds to drink.
Alice Bennett has created a wildlife haven in her garden at 1124 Fremont Avenue with a diversity of common and uncommon California native plants. Passers-by cannot resist pausing to enjoy her parkway garden full of mostly native penstemons, clarkias, poppies, and gilias, and the same can be said for a host of beneficial butterflies, bees, and beetles. There is now a tally of more than 70 species of native California trees, shrubs, vines, cactus, succulents, and annual/perennial wildflowers in the yard, planters, and pots all ‘round the house. This garden was previously recognized as Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Pascal and SooYoung Suh at 710 Adelaine Avenue relandscaped their garden last year with help from landscape designer June Weems. Palo Verde ‘Desert Museum’ and Western Redbud grow among other plantings including Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s ears), Fynbos Aloe, Canadale Gold Wintercreeper, Sedum Palmeri, Sedum Nussbaumerianum, Agave Quadricolor, Peperomia galioides and Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’s’ (Black Rose). The plantings are framed by meandering paths of decomposed granite, stepping stones, and rocks.
When Steve Zikman and Rob Fung built their new modern home in 2016 at 1104 Fairview Avenue, their DIY gardening goal was to create a soft, breezy, magical feeling requiring minimal watering and using mostly drought-tolerant plants. A catchment basin under the existing 35’ Monterey Pine tree captures water and feeds the groundwater. They also designed and constructed an 8’ circular deck under the pine tree. Plantings include: Pencil Trees (Fire Sticks), Dwarf Clones (Senecios), Nodding Pincushions (Leucosporum), Tree Aeoniums, Pittosporum, Spanish Brooms (Spartum Junceum), ‘Sunburst’ Aeonium, Blue Fescue, New Zealand Flax (Phormium Tenax), Elephant Bush (Portulacaria Afra), and Crimson Bottlebrush (Calistemon Citrinus).
Homeowners John and Sandy Gildersleeve desired more flowering, fruiting and native/drought tolerant plants when they re-landscaped their front yard at 1623 Marengo Avenue in November of 2020. Working with landscape architect Amy Davis Jones, flagstone, granite boulders, coyote bush, California poppies, and blue grama grass were installed in the parkway. The entrance beds contain Desert Willow trees, salvia bees bliss, California lilac, rock rose, creeping germander, and lavender cotton. Other plantings on the property, including a variety of citrus trees, California bush anemone, yarrow, aster, Mexican marigolds, leucadendrons, and boronia, help create a more natural, airy, free-flowing look with color and fragrance.
