Regenerative Gardening at the Altadena Library District
Our Gardens
The Altadena Library is home to many gardening and regenerative landscaping projects that invite you to participate in holistic environmental practices. All of our gardening and landscaping projects are made by community members and are a source of seasonal programs throughout the year. Learn more about each of them on this page, sign up for upcoming gardening programs, or sign up for free membership in the ALD Bob Lucas Branch Community Compost Hub.
Thanks
We extend a huge thank you to the following community partners that guided the garden’s design and implementation. Our garden, like our Altadena Libraries, is enriched by the unique tapestry of voices, experiences, and expertise in our community, and we are so grateful for the time and effort of Altadenans who have and continue to make this a space that, as our mission states, brings people and ideas together.
Altadena Library’s Gardening Projects
About
The Native Plant Garden at Bob Lucas Memorial Library, funded by a grant from the Metropolitan Water District, opened in November of 2020. The garden transformed the outside space in front of our Bob Lucas Memorial Branch into an educational (and beautiful!) garden that demonstrates regenerative landscaping techniques that community members can incorporate in their own yards and gardens. This new landmark in our community provides habitats for local wildlife, shade for readers, and endless discovery for nature explorers of all ages with over 20 different varieties of native plants found in the garden. The Native Plant Garden incorporates the following regenerative gardening methods and practices.
Hügelkultur
Hügelkultur (pronounced hoo-gull-culture) refers to the use of hills or mounds made out of materials typically found in a compost heap (wood, clippings, leaves, food scraps, etc.) so that as the materials decay, it retains moisture and shares nutrients throughout the mound for years to come.
Bioswale
A bioswale is a vegetated channel that “uses plant materials and specialized soil mixes to treat, absorb, and convey stormwater runoff” (Naturally Resilient Communities || PDF link).
Urbanite
Urbanite, made of broken, unwanted concrete from demolition sites and elsewhere, will be used for pathways throughout our garden.
Native Plants
There are thousands of plants native to Southern California, with hundreds that can be found in our very community of Altadena. The garden will feature abundant beds of plants that thrive in our Mediterranean environment. To view a comprehensive listing of native plants to our community, explore the online directory from Calscape, an initiative of California Native Plant Society.
About
The Edible Garden, distinct from the Native Plant Garden, transforms the unused space bordering the parking lot into a yearlong site of participation and gardening. Drip irrigation supplies water to the garden when needed and raised beds employ hügelkultur methods to use that water most efficiently. Seasonal planting selections are made by local gardeners and maintenance of the garden relies on volunteers and gardening program attendees.
About Composting at ALD with LA Compost
2022 sees the beginning of a new project that complements the regenerative gardening efforts at the Altadena Library. Inspired by the compost hub at Arlington Garden in Pasadena, the library began to work with LA Compost in an effort to have Altadena’s first LA Compost site. Our plan was accepted and our brand new compost hub constructed and installed in December 2021.
The Altadena Community Compost Hub is a great way for anyone to participate in regenerative gardening. While the finished product provides a boon to active gardeners, contributing food scraps to the composting process is a great way to get involved with the practice of tending to the ecology of our community.
Membership remains open to the hub – sign up here and follow the instructions to gain access and start contributing.
Altadena Library’s Partnership with SLOLA
In the summer of 2017, the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA) reached out and asked to partner with the Altadena Library District with the goal of opening an Altadena Branch of SLOLA. The Altadena Seed Library officially opened in December 2017, and we have had the pleasure of partnering with SLOLA to support the needs of this diverse, curious, and dynamic community for the last 4+ years. SLOLA builds community through access to seeds and through educational programming. Each month the community gathers, checks out seeds, and shares their personal knowledge to support each other’s success around gardening.
During the pandemic, our Seed Librarian, Jessica Yarger, has worked hard to make sure community members can still access seeds. Our in-person meetings shifted to Zoom and while we lost the intimacy that comes with gathering in-person we found that the Zoom platform lifted geographic barriers to access and doubled our attendance. Folks from all over the country have been participating in our monthly educational presentations.
From the Garden Programming Series
Ready to get started gardening at home or with us at the library? Connect with us and local master gardeners every month at the library!
The library invites you to our From the Garden programming series. Each month we learn new skills and apply them with hands-on experiences in our gardens.
Tap on the From the Garden logo to find the upcoming events on our events page.
Join Us!
All of the Altadena Library’s gardens, garden programs and partnerships, and regenerative gardening projects are powered by community members – that’s you! You’re invited to attend a gardening class, join our LA Compost-managed compost hub, or become a member of the Altadena Chapter of the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA). We can’t wait to see you around the garden!
