by Michele Zack
Special to Altadenablog
There is no more fun (or funny) volunteer job in the world than contacting winners of Altadena Heritage’s Golden Poppy Garden Award to break the news to them. This generally happens over the phone, and reactions vary. The winner is often skeptical, as in: “Are you trying to sell me something?”
When it sinks in that all Altadena Heritage wants is to honor the gardener and garden, the tone switches to general astonishment and joy at this small but significant recognition of the labor of love that is gardening. “What! We’ve never won anything in our lives, this is amazing. . . I’m going to call my Aunt Barbara, she will be so thrilled!”
The
above was Lon McCoy’s first thought when Altadena Heritage Board Member
and event chair Anita David called him in advance of Sunday’s Annual
Golden Poppy Urban Homestead Fete, which this year attracted 130 people
to Kazi Petelka and John Steinmetz’s incredible urban farm. McCoy and
partner George Feaster have worked for 15 years on their Highview
Avenue drought tolerant garden. They reside in the Gregory Ain
modernist neighborhood designated as an “AHA!” or Altadena Heritage
Area in 2002. (Aunt Barbara, 87 and ailing in Seattle, was indeed
happy, according to Lon, when he told her of the honor.)
This year’s other winners included Jennifer Shepard and Pam Forrest’s edible landscape on Glenrose, and Dr. Jason and Jane Yoo’s and Mark and Susan Sironi’s drought tolerant gardens on Altadena Drive and Athens Street. All were present, and all spoke eloquently about their efforts to create beautiful and personally meaningful landscapes. Their neighborhoods have benefited, too, and we’re sure our Golden Poppy gardeners will inspire others. Each was presented by Chairman Mark Goldschmidt and Vice Chair Lili Etezady with a beautiful bronze plaque to display in their garden for two years, when it is passed on to other winners. This year’s theme, drought tolerant and edible landscapes, is part of Altadena Heritage’s current “Sustainability Series.”
Farm
tours, personally guided by Kazi Petelka, farmer/gardener
extraordinaire, were the other highlight of the event. Kazi took groups
through her orchard of rare fruit, vegetable gardens, and poultry area,
sharing her vast knowledge with Altadena Heritage’s guests. She sent
them home with a handout listing recommended tomato and other vegetable
varieties, as well as a list of all her fruit trees. She also
generously provided party favors: a choice of iris rhizomes in shades
of purple!
A word about the food: scrumptious. This year, board members and spouses made everything from scratch, in keeping with the sustainability theme. Many ingredients, such as ripe tomatoes, came from Altadena Gardens — and all dishes came from Altadena kitchens (with wine and cheese from Trader Joe’s!) Delicious canapés, from onion marmalade with herbed goat cheese to cucumber dill sandwiches, were followed by numerous salads, Chairman’s Chili, apricot tarts, and rhubarb-peach crumble.
Visit Altadenaheritage.org for more information on this community based organization.
Photos, top to bottom:
Kazi Petelka conducts farm tour
Golden Poppy Garden Awards
Chair Mark Goldschmidt with Golden Poppy winners Lon McCoy and George Feaster
130 guests (including 30 new members) enjoy the garden fete.
