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Throop Learning Garden

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Throop Memorial Church  •  300 South Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena

Throop Learning Garden is an example of how we can transform our environment through community. We worked together to found a garden based on permaculture principles. We began with Bermuda grass and hardpan clay. We now enjoy a garden that includes a raised bed food garden, a fruit tree food forest, a drought tolerant native garden, demonstrations of water harvesting techniques, soil building, uses for “urbanite” and other recyclables, and comfortable places to congregate. We also host a wealth of birds and beneficial insects, including praying mantises, many moths, and butterflies.
Garden work days are most Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 10:30.

~ 2013 Pasadena Green City Award for Urban Nature ~


Building Community in the Garden

3/9/2015

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All plants grow in community. It is a natural process that has developed over millions of years. We see this in microcosm each time we plant. Broccoli doesn’t thrive in a tomato patch, but excels when planted with kale and potatoes. Sometimes buffer plants can be used to create a mycorrhizal divide that will allow unlike plants to thrive together. Then the goal can be growth and living to ones’ potential.

We see this same process in our garden community. We plant ourselves firmly and grow in community. Yet sometimes there is disagreement or conflict. Sometimes our shared vision falters. At these times our buffer is heart-to-heart communication.

We begin with a moment of silent meditation to ground ourselves. Then we sit together silently as one person speaks. We listen from the heart, without thinking ahead to what we might say. We speak from the heart, honoring those we address while addressing the issue. We know our voice is heard and valued by the attention and focus of our listeners. Through this process we come to resolution. We create peace so that all in the garden thrive.

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Notes from the Garden

12/10/2014

 

Water

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The drought deepens. As a result, Pasadena announced that landscape irrigation must be reduced to one day a week. Ironically, the Pasadena Star News reports that regional water usage actually increased several percentage points over last year, with the speculation that the spike was due to increased temperatures. We are now drawing more water from local aquifers as our allocations from other sources have plummeted. Aquifer drafts are a source of last resort, as it takes years to replace the water taken out. The trend of decreasing water availability as temperatures continue to rise will be with us for the foreseeable future.

So where does this leave us?

We strive to build our local resiliency through increasing grey water usage, installing viable rainwater catchment systems, and stacking water usage so each drop of potable water is recycled in landscapes. We are beginning to alter our consumption. However, this alone will not be enough if we experience a protracted drought.

The question looms larger. Can we alter our consumptive lifestyles soon enough to avert a major crisis? Can we all live in a way that we use resources mindfully and respectfully? Can we all agree to consciously set realistic limits on development and industries that consume massive amounts of water? Can we forego extravagant luxuries, like lawns, so that all may have enough? And can we rationally view the carrying capacity of the land and live within it?

We need a massive shift in awareness and action to thrive in our current climate.

We of Throop Learning Garden try to be water aware and cautious of our usage.The rainwater tank will be installed in the next few weeks and will augment our irrigation. Thick mulch, companion planting, and plant placement lessen the amount of water needed. But the garden has a bottom line in the water it needs. Can the garden survive if we come under severe water rationing?

My friends, if this sounds dire, it's because it is! So what are you doing to minimize your water footprint?

— January Nordman

California Drought Updates

Photo by Qrys Cunningham 

Change is in the Air

10/22/2014

 
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 A couple Sundays back, Mimi and I were tending the garden, when suddenly a swarm of chattering buntings descended on the orchard, about a hundred small, round, dark grey birds in the flock. They roosted in the trees, scratched in the mulch for seeds, and had a drink and a splash in the bird bath. We watched them, transfixed, for 15 minutes or so. Then, as if on cue, they all flew off to the south. Mimi and I were incredulous at the spectacle we had just witnessed. Throop Learning Garden has gone from garden to habitat!

The kids that attended our first Throop Kids Program garden section planted seeds for our fall garden. We now have seedlings that will be ready to plant in the next few weeks. The kids have also been doing “vegetable treasure hunts” to identify and find different crops to harvest. Everybody enjoyed finding and picking pumpkins from our very own patch! The Throop Kids Program garden time takes place on the second Sunday of the month from 11:30 to noon. (The next will be on October 12.)

The 1,320 gallon rainwater catchment tank we ordered should arrive in the next few weeks! We have gutter adaptations in the works, and plans for deeper swales and extended French drains across the Del Mar yard. Unfortunately, this necessitates excavating our urbanite patio. We anticipate workshops and construction will take place in October. Thanks to all who helped with our crowd source grant!

My deepest gratitude for all the effort from so many hearts and hands to make TLG a vibrant community.

— January Nordman

Photo by January Nordman, Mimi with the harvest

Notes from the Garden

4/9/2014

 
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I recently experienced a beautiful day in a friend's native plant garden, an attempt to restore a riparian habitat in a suburban, canyon setting. I volunteered as a docent during the Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour. I was rewarded for my effort in so many ways.

I gained a gift by simply being in a small area of nature for 8 hours and watching the day progress. I witnessed the coming and going of birds, small mammals, and lizards. I spied on a hawk courtship, spotted a flicker, and charted a woodpecker's travels through favorite trees. I delighted in the aroma of old growth live oak  and redwood, the sweetness of everlasting, and the familiar pungency of sun drenched white sage. I felt the temperature changes as the sun moved across the sky, creating ever changing dapples of cool shade and warm sun. I enjoyed the resilient vitality of the young meadow plants.

Several hundred people attended the tour site over the course of the day. Each brought their attention and interest, a conversation, a story. Teachers, artists, bookkeepers, scientists, horticulturists, and children, all nature enthusiasts, roamed through the garden. Each offered the hope that together we could heal some of the damage done to our earth, to give back as we enjoyed each other and the unfolding of the day.

— January Nordman

Spring explodes at Throop Learning Garden!

3/10/2014

 
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A pair of ravens graced us by taking up residence in the church belfry in mid-February. They scoped out our little corner habitat, then proceeded to roust the pigeons from the belfry. Feathers flew, and so did the pigeons. Next came a 3-week period of nest building. Half the twigs in Pasadena must have been brought in, examined, then thrown, rejected, to litter the church steps. Finally, their edifice complete, they set about the business of home and family.
Rev. Tera spied 4 blue-green eggs in the nest in early March. Our garden web of life expands beautifully.

You can see the nest from the church steps on Del Mar. Look up to the right-hand side of the belfry. The nest is visible in the uppermost niche.  Please view them from afar only.

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Our other big garden news is the arrival and planting of fruit trees. TreePeople granted us the following trees:
  • 2 apples
  • 2 tangerines
  • 2 Eureka lemons
  • 1 Meyer lemon
  • 1 fig
  • 1 pomegranate

Thanks to Steve at TreePeople, and Therese, Judith, Mimi, and all the volunteers who are working on planting the trees!

— January Nordman

A Year in the Garden

1/9/2014

 
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2013 proved a momentus year for Throop Learning Garden. Our planning and hard work culminated in a beautiful, productive oasis. The garden continues to be a place of habitat renewal, community building, and possibility in an evolving urban environment.

Notable events and achievements for 2013 include:
  • January — National Day of Service brought 42 volunteers together for a lawn conversion.
  • April — The Pasadena Earth & Arts Festival bestowed Throop Church and NELA Transition an award for Urban Nature for the Throop Learning Garden.

We hosted many well attended workshops. Some were short  talks on Sundays covering an array of garden topics. More formal workshops included:
  • Lenore & Ginko’s Soap Making Workshop
  • Laura Henne’s Worm Compost Workshop
  • Jim Bledsoe’s Hypertufa Workshop
  • Dr. Jim Adam’s Native Healing Plants Workshop
  • Steve Hofvendahl’s Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop
  • Just Doing Fun Stuff Holiday Party

We also began Michael’s Wednesday garden workdays, weekly meditation on Sunday mornings, and installed several water features.


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Gratitude

11/14/2013

 
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
 
Autumn is the time for gratitude, a time to slow one’s pace and savor what has transpired.
 
We enjoyed good yields that were shared by our neighbors. We worked hard on many projects and rooted friendships as we grew community. We joined in collaboration to “just do stuff” with a wider community. We even found time to sit in quiet meditation.
 
Now is the time to consider a pause in activity to fully take in what we’ve accomplished together. Now is the time to consider what seeds we may sow in the future.
 
I am so grateful for all the energies people have brought to the garden. I am so grateful that others are dreaming gardens for other locations. And what a joy that we are all opening to new skills, ideas, and possibilities. Most of all I am so grateful that we have a shared journey that continues to unfold, one slow step at a time.

Observation

10/4/2013

 
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We spend so much of our lives distracted.

What we desire. What we must do. How we can solve this or that. All thoughts lead us away from where our lives are actually lived: the here and the now.

This plays out in the garden as well. To counter this distraction and be fully present in our lives, especially in the garden, we must slow down and observe.

Observation takes us out of personal drama and anchors us in the reality of the natural world around us. We gain understanding and insight through observing what is right in front of us. Visual and olfactory acuity, pattern recognition, and watching developments over time, all expand as we observe. Sequences of planting, growing, and harvesting become apparent in their subtle progression, through observation.

How can one observe? Try this the next time you are in a natural setting:

Sit quietly for a few minutes with your eyes closed. Let thoughts arise, but not linger. Take a deep breath, and open your eyes as you exhale.

What do you see? Are the plants around you green and vibrant, or brown and withered?
What shape and color are the leaves? Do you notice other life on the plants: insects, fungus?

How does the plant smell? If appropriate, touch the plant to see how it feels. Is it soft, stiff, scratchy? What do you hear and feel? Is the sun warm on your back? Is the breeze cool?

Now address the plants around you. Listen for a response. Breathe deeply several more times.

Then, honor the plants. Thank them for their beauty and for allowing you to experience them fully.

You will be surprised how much you can learn simply by paying attention. You will also be amazed at what rich experiences open up to you, through the act of observation.

— January Nordman

Notes from the Garden

9/10/2013

 

August has been a month of surprises.

We were excited that our plants were producing so much, and were laden with nearly ripe fruit. We were truly baffled when, expecting huge harvests of apples, cucumbers, and tomatoes, we arrived at the garden to find our plants stripped bare. Could it be animal marauders? Some mysterious wasting? Or human scavengers who cleaned us out?
 
We investigated the clues. We quickly ruled out animals, as there was no scat, footprints, or breakage of limbs or vines associated with animal pillage. We saw no signs of wasting or dropped fruit. We decided that humans had perpetrated the harvest, as our outside buckets disappeared along with the produce.
 
This precipitated a long conversation about the nature of the garden. Some were outraged that someone would take everything. Others were fine with it, as long as the people were hungry and would use the food. Still others were anxious to ensure that produce would be shared in the future.

This precipitated a long conversation about the nature of the garden. Some were outraged that someone would take everything. Others were fine with it, as long as the people were hungry and would use the food. Still others were anxious to ensure that produce would be shared in the future.

The reality is that the Throop Learning Garden is an urban garden situated at a busy intersection with an active bus stop. We assumed from the beginning that people from the street would pick the produce from the garden. In fact, we encouraged the neighbors to come and pick. What took us by surprise was the absolute stripping of the harvest, so that nothing was left for us or others.  But does this mean our labors have been for naught? Or is this a sign of success, that food is going to the hungry who need it? We may never know for sure.  But our work continues, as does the conversation.
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Since then, a sign has been posted, asking that people pick only a little, leaving food for others. So far, it seems to be working.
 
The other big surprise was the utter delight we shared at the August 24th Hypertufa Workshop with Jim Bledsoe. We enjoyed a good turnout.

Jim gave a great presentation about working with hypertufa. We explored mixtures and different types of molding techniques. All the participants went home with several portable projects, besides experiencing the construction of two large earth molded projects. We ended with a shared potluck lunch that allowed everybody a chance for conversation and to get to know each other better.

— January Nordman

Notes from the Garden

8/3/2013

 
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Every so often one finds great inspiration from the smallest of events. Today, I came across two; a years old magazine and a website I did not know. Both gave me pause, but then spurred me to think.

First, I stumbled over a Tricycle magazine from 2009 as I cleaned my studio. I happened to open the magazine to “Out of the Skeleton Garden: On things that go flap in the night” by my favorite garden author, Wendy Johnson. In it she rejoiced that we have bats in the world, for pest control, pollination, and fertilizer. She eloquently described the important niche bats inhabit, and how each small bat action influences the well being of a myriad of plants, animals, and people around them. This led me to think of Throop Learning Garden, and the joy of seeing swooping bats at dusk. We are so fortunate to have them as denizens of our extended community.

The second happenstance involved a small UK website: myclimatechangegarden.com.
The very short article entitled “How Your Garden Can Help Beat Climate Change” offered four areas where urban gardens make a difference:
  • [Gardens] help control urban temperatures, mitigating the effects of extreme heat or cold.
  • They help prevent flooding by absorbing rainwater that would otherwise overload a drainage system.
  • They have effectively become some of Britain’s best nature reserves, supporting a range of wildlife including birds, mammals, and invertebrates.
  • They support human health by easing stress and providing physical exercise.

I would add a number of other benefits including: building community, providing food, and promoting a deeper sense of interbeing.
 
Both inspirations dovetail into our activities at Throop Learning Garden. We are in the process of setting up workshops for the fall/winter season. One of our key topics is attracting bats to gardens. This also ties in with our goal of promoting gardening across the city. Several regular gardeners are joining with other folks to form gardens for the Arroyo Food Co-op and a Woodbury neighborhood group. Each action draws us into a larger, interconnected web of life. Each small step brings us closer to healing ourselves and our environment.

— January Nordman
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    January Nordman
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