South Pasadena Nature Park
100 Pasadena Ave
Pasadena, CA 91030


Established:
2004
Size:
3.5 acres
Features:
Walking trails
Bridal Path
Cool information signs
Notable Plants:
Nevin’s Barberry (Berberis nevinii)
Black sage (Salvia mellifera)
Monkey flowers (Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens)
Wild cucumber (Marah fabacea)
Black walnut (Juglans californica)
Chaparral mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus)
Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus)
Bush sunflower (Encelia californica)
Coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis)
Best time to visit:
Spring, summer and winter
In winter and early spring the wild cucumbers come to life, poking out of the ground like weird little aliens, and their rapid progress is fun to watch. Spring has all the wild flowers, penstemons, and bush sunflowers in bloom. Summer brings the mallows, buckwheats and the milkweeds in the butterfly garden.
South Pasadena Nature Park marks the most southern, and our last stop on the Arroyo Seco. In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. Construction began in 2004 and the park has steadily grown since.
The edges of the park are lined with mature oaks, sycamores, walnuts and toyons. In the spring the path that leads from the street to the park is lined with wild cucumber. This fascinating plant spreads vigorously and ridiculously fast, from a giant root system (it is in the “manroot” family after all). The vines can cover trees and take over huge areas. And yet by the end of June they are completely gone. They are summer deciduous and totally fade away. Only the most stringy of dried vines are left. They have small charming flowers, beautifully shaped leaves and right before disappearing, strange spiky seed pods that look nothing like a cucumber.
Along this trail there is also a very healthy stand of poison oak mixed in, which is lovely to see, but maybe not to touch. The open space of the park is filled with small trails that take you through buckwheats, bladder pods, California sage and an impressive group of coast sunflowers that are simply spectacular when in bloom.
The butterfly garden that was completed in 2018 features milkweeds, penstemons, wildflowers and a stunning chaparral mallow. Here visitors can find a helpful sign about monarch butterflies and the plants they need to survive. There is also a helpful guide to the visible peaks, such as the well known Mount Baldy and the delightfully named Mount Disappointment.
“In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. “
The park connects to the greater Arroyo Seco trails and it is not uncommon to see riders on horseback pass through the park. While coming in the spring could never disappoint, especially with all those coast sunflowers, summer has the buckwheats in bloom and the Nevin’s barberries at the entrance are covered in bright red berries. The chaparral mallow in the butterfly garden is simply spectacular and would warrant a visit in the hot sun.


While the start of the nature park was not easy, it was the establishment of the plants that became a real battle. Neglected and disturbed areas like the Nature Park site have a seed bank overrun with weeds and invasive plants. Without attention these plants quickly outcompete the native plants.
(Quick side note: the reason non-native plants are often more successful here is because they have no predators, pathogens, or natural systems to keep them in check. What you are seeing is not a plant better suited to the environment, but an ecology that is totally out of balance.)
Barbara Eisenstein, the author of Weeding Wild Suburbia and the main force behind the Nature Park, details the beginning of the park in the article “NATIVE BY DESIGN: COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION AND STEWARDSHIP OF A NATURE PARK” in the 2009 issue of Fremontia, the magazine of the California Native Plant Society. Eisenstein writes about how volunteers battled weeds, urban runoff, broken and glass graffiti. The original plans for the lower flat area of the park was to have a grassland meadow, but that was immediately overrun with weeds. The city brought in green waste to smother the casterbeans and other weeds, which worked but left the center of the park empty.
The space was then filled with less delicate shrubs, like laurel sumac and buckwheat. And while this wasn’t the original plan, it’s still lovely.
“This is the reality of our environment, yet each month a small group of citizens refuses to accept it.”
What the South Pasadena Nature Park really represents is caring, or perhaps more accurately, stewardship. Eisenstein writes “It is a target for graffiti, broken glass, and litter. Weeds are always ready to reestablish themselves, crowding out the local native plants. Through much of the year, urban runoff—polluted with fertilizers, pesticides, and other toxins— flows through the concrete-lined waterway. This is the reality of our environment, yet each month a small group of citizens refuses to accept it.” The park was created through hard physical work but also through the labour and endurance of continuing to care. This space and the habitat it provides is the result of people looking at a space and seeing what it could be. Of wanting something better, and of valuing the land in a way that subverts our current systems of consumption.


More Information
Opening Hours:
24 hours everyday




























South Pasadena Nature Park
100 Pasadena Ave
Pasadena, CA 91030


Established:
2004
Size:
3.5 acres
Features:
Walking trails
Bridal Path
Cool information signs
Notable Plants:
Nevin’s Barberry
(Berberis nevinii)
Black sage
(Salvia mellifera)
Monkey flowers
(Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens)
Wild cucumber
(Marah fabacea)
Black walnut
(Juglans californica)
Chaparral mallow
(Malacothamnus fasciculatus)
Buckbrush
(Ceanothus cuneatus)
Bush sunflower
(Encelia californica)
Coyote bush
(Baccharis pilularis)
Best time to visit:
Spring, summer and winter
In winter and early spring the wild cucumbers come to life, poking out of the ground like weird little aliens, and their rapid progress is fun to watch. Spring has all the wild flowers, penstemons, and bush sunflowers in bloom. Summer brings the mallows, buckwheats and the milkweeds in the butterfly garden.
South Pasadena Nature Park marks the most southern, and our last stop on the Arroyo Seco. In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. Construction began in 2004 and the park has steadily grown since.
The edges of the park are lined with mature oaks, sycamores, walnuts and toyons. In the spring the path that leads from the street to the park is lined with wild cucumber. This fascinating plant spreads ridiculously fast from a giant root system (it is in the “manroot” family after all). The vines can cover trees and will completely take over large areas. And yet by mid summer, they are completely gone. Only the most stringy of dried vines are left of this summer deciduous plant. In the winter and spring they are covered in small, charming flowers, beautifully shaped leaves and right before disappearing, strange spiky seed pods (that look nothing like a cucumber).
Along this trail there is also a very healthy stand of poison oak, which is lovely to see, but maybe not to touch. The open space of the park is filled with small trails that take you through
buckwheats, bladder pods, California sage and an impressive group of bush sunflowers that are simply spectacular when in bloom.
The butterfly garden that was completed in 2018 features milkweeds, penstemons, wildflowers and a stunning chaparral mallow. Here visitors can find a helpful sign about monarch butterflies and the plants they need to survive. There is also a helpful guide to the visible peaks, such as the well known Mount Baldy and the delightfully named Mount Disappointment.
“In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. “
The park connects to the greater Arroyo Seco trails and it is not uncommon to see riders on horseback pass through the park. While coming in the spring could never disappoint, especially with all those bush sunflowers, summer has the buckwheats in bloom and the Nevin’s barberries at the entrance are covered in bright red berries. The chaparral mallow in the butterfly garden is simply spectacular and would warrant a visit in the hot sun.


While the start of the nature park was not easy, it was the establishment of the plants that became a real battle.Neglected and disturbed areas like the Nature Park site have a seed bank overrun with weeds and invasive plants. Without attention these plants quickly outcompete the native plants.
(Quick side note: the reason non-native plants are often more successful is because they have no predators, pathogens, or natural systems to keep them in check. What you are seeing is not a plant better suited to the environment, but an ecology that is totally out of balance.)
Barbara Eisenstein, the author of Weeding Wild Suburbia and the main force behind the Nature Park, details the beginning of the park in the article “Native by Design: Community involvement in the creation and stewardship of a nature park” in the 2009 issue of Fremontia, the magazine of the California Native Plant Society. Eisenstein writes about how volunteers battled weeds, urban runoff, and vandalism. The original plans for the lower flat area of the park was to have a grassland meadow, but that was immediately overrun with weeds. The city brought in green waste to smother the casterbeans and other weeds, which worked but left the center of the park empty.
The space was then filled with less delicate shrubs, like laurel sumac and buckwheat. And while this wasn’t the original plan, it’s still lovely.
“This is the reality of our environment, yet each month a small group of citizens refuses to accept it.”
What the South Pasadena Nature Park really represents is caring, or perhaps more accurately, stewardship. Eisenstein writes “It is a target for graffiti, broken glass, and litter. Weeds are always ready to reestablish themselves, crowding out the local native plants. Through much of the year, urban runoff—polluted with fertilizers, pesticides, and other toxins— flows through the concrete-lined waterway. This is the reality of our environment, yet each month a small group of citizens refuses to accept it.”
The park was created through hard physical work but also through the labour and endurance of continuing to care. This space and the habitat it provides is the result of people looking at a space and seeing what it could be. Of wanting something better, and of valuing the land in a way that subverts our current systems of consumption.


More Information
Opening Hours:
24 hours everyday




























South Pasadena Nature Park
100 Pasadena Ave
Pasadena, CA 91030

Established:
2004
Size:
3.5 acres
Features:
Walking trails
Bridal Path
Cool information signs
Notable Plants:
Nevin’s Barberry (Berberis nevinii)
Black sage (Salvia mellifera)
Monkey flowers (Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens)
Wild cucumber (Marah fabacea)
Black walnut (Juglans californica)
Chaparral mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus)
Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus)
Bush sunflower (Encelia californica)
Coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis)
Best time to visit:
Spring, summer and winter
In winter and early spring the wild cucumbers come to life, poking out of the ground like weird little aliens, and their rapid progress is fun to watch. Spring has all the wild flowers, penstemons, and bush sunflowers in bloom. Summer brings the mallows, buckwheats and the milkweeds in the butterfly garden.
South Pasadena Nature Park marks the most southern, and our last stop on the Arroyo Seco. In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. Construction began in 2004 and the park has steadily grown since.
The edges of the park are lined with mature oaks, sycamores, walnuts and toyons. In the spring the path that leads from the street to the park is lined with wild cucumber. This fascinating plant spreads ridiculously fast from a giant root system (it is in the “manroot” family after all). The vines can cover trees and will completely take over large areas. And yet by mid summer, they are completely gone. Only the most stringy of dried vines are left of this summer deciduous plant. In the winter and spring they are covered in small, charming flowers, beautifully shaped leaves and right before disappearing, strange spiky seed pods (that look nothing like a cucumber).

Along this trail there is also a very healthy stand of poison oak, which is lovely to see, but maybe not to touch. The open space of the park is filled with small trails that take you through buckwheats, bladder pods, California sage and an impressive group of bush sunflowers that are simply spectacular when in bloom.
“In the 1990’s this three and a half acre piece of land was condemned to be sold and developed. However, it was through community activism that the land was preserved as an open space. “
The butterfly garden that was completed in 2018 features milkweeds, penstemons, wildflowers and a stunning chaparral mallow. Here visitors can find a helpful sign about monarch butterflies and the plants they need to survive. There is also a helpful guide to the visible peaks, such as the well known Mount Baldy and the delightfully named Mount Disappointment.

The park connects to the greater Arroyo Seco trails and it is not uncommon to see riders on horseback pass through the park. While coming in the spring could never disappoint, especially with all those bush sunflowers, summer has the buckwheats in bloom and the Nevin’s barberries at the entrance are covered in bright red berries. The chaparral mallow in the butterfly garden is simply spectacular and would warrant a visit in the hot sun.

While the start of the nature park was not easy, it was the establishment of the plants that became a real battle. Neglected and disturbed areas like the Nature Park site have a seed bank overrun with weeds and invasive plants. Without attention these plants quickly outcompete the native plants.
(Quick side note: the reason non-native plants are often more successful is because they have no predators, pathogens, or natural systems to keep them in check. What you are seeing is not a plant better suited to the environment, but an ecology that is totally out of balance.)
“This is the reality of our environment, yet each month a small group of citizens refuses to accept it.”
Barbara Eisenstein, the author of Weeding Wild Suburbia and the main force behind the Nature Park, details the beginning of the park in the article “Native by Design: Community involvement in the creation and stewardship of a nature park” in the 2009 issue of Fremontia, the magazine of the California Native Plant Society. Eisenstein writes about how volunteers battled weeds, urban runoff, and vandalism. The original plans for the lower flat area of the park was to have a grassland meadow, but that was immediately overrun with weeds. The city brought in green waste to smother the casterbeans and other weeds, which worked but left the center of the park empty. The space was then filled with less delicate shrubs, like laurel sumac and buckwheat. And while this wasn’t the original plan, it’s still lovely.

What the South Pasadena Nature Park really represents is caring, or perhaps more accurately, stewardship. Eisenstein writes “It is a target for graffiti, broken glass, and litter. Weeds are always ready to reestablish themselves, crowding out the local native plants. Through much of the year, urban runoff—polluted with fertilizers, pesticides, and other toxins— flows through the concrete-lined waterway. This is the reality of our environment, yet each month a small group of citizens refuses to accept it.”
The park was created through hard physical work but also through the labour and endurance of continuing to care. This space and the habitat it provides is the result of people looking at a space and seeing what it could be. Of wanting something better, and of valuing the land in a way that subverts our current systems of consumption.

More Information
Opening Hours:
24 hours everyday



























