rose magazine feb., 12, 2012

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2011 | ROSE | 1

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GO GREEN

PLANT YOUR GARDEN

SHOPPING AT ONE COLORADO

FACE THE MUSIC... AND LEARN TO DANCE

ORCHESTRAYehuda Gilad, Music Director

Pasadena,thank you formaking our concert seasona sold-out success!

Media Sponsor

Saturdays, 7:30 pmAmbassador Auditorium

September 24, 2011October 22, 2011December 3, 2011February 4, 2012March 3, 2012

VIP ticketsavailable: $25

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Tickets start at $15www.colburnschool.edu213.621.1050

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4 | ROSE | MARCH-APRIL 2012

Editor: Catherine [email protected]

Online Editors: Daniel [email protected]; Erick Galindo

[email protected]

Contributing Editors: Frank Girardot, Steve Hunt Contributors: Linda Alquist, Jack C. Christensen, Linda Fields Gold, Richard Irwin, Michelle J. Mills, Maritza

Velazquez, Pam Waterman, Karen Weber, Larry Wilson, Brittany Wong

Photographers: James Carbone, Leo Jarzomb, Walt Mancini, Watchara Phomicinda, Sarah Reingewirtz

Designer: Amanda KeithPhoto Toning: Mark Quarles

Manager, Events and Strategic Partnership: Jesse [email protected]

Sales Executives: Mercedes Abara, Fred Bankston, Jose Luis Correa, Suky DeBellis, Eric Grollman, Molly

Hollenbaugh, Chris Lancaster, Albert Ramirez, Kevin Reed, Ralph Ringgold, Stephanie Rosencrantz, Racquel Sanchez,

Chris Stathousis, John ThompsonSales Assistants: Allen Juezan, Ann Weathersbee

Advertising Graphic Design: Christie Robinson, Lead Designer/Production Coordinator

Ginnie Stevens, Designer

PASADENA STAR-NEWSSan Gabriel Valley News Group

Senior Editor: Steve HuntStar-News Editor: Frank Girardot

Star-News Advertising Manager: Jesse Dillon

Vice President of Sales & Marketing: Jim MaurerVice President of Operations: John Wartinger

Vice President of Finance: Kathy JohnsonVice President of Human Resources: Louise Kopitch

Copyright 2012 Rose Magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. Rose Magazine is

not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or artwork even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Printed by Southwest Offset Printing

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2

CONTACT US:Editorial: 626-962-8811, Ext. 2479 or Ext. 2252

[email protected]: 626-578-6300, Ext. 4466

[email protected]

911 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91109therosemag.com

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Inland Custom Publishing GroupPublisher & CEO: Fred Hamilton

Sales Development Director: Lynda E. BaileyResearch Director: Shawna Federoff

Editor: Don Sproul

Manager, Events and Strategic Partnership: Jesse Dillon [email protected]

Sales Executives: Mercedes Abara, Frank Bankston, Jose Luis Correa, Suky DeBellis, Chris Lancaster,

Kevin Reed, Ralph Ringgold, Stephanie Rosencrantz, Racquel Sanchez, John Thompson

Sales Assistants: Allen Juezan, Ann WeathersbeeAdvertising Graphic Design:

Christie Robinson, Lead Designer/Production CoordinatorGinnie Stevens, Designer

Azusa Pacific University alumni are more than graduates. They are difference makers intheir businesses, classrooms, and communities. Join the thousands of other Azusa Pacificgraduates impacting the world for Christ.

APU offers 53 undergraduate majors, 37 master’s degrees, 21 credentials, 7 doctoral programs, and 5 certificates to more than 9,200 students on campus, online, and at seven regional centers throughout Southern California.

AZUSA I HIGH DESERT I INLAND EMPIRE I LOS ANGELES I MURRIETA I ORANGE COUNTY I SAN DIEGO I VENTURA COUNTY I ONLINE

www.apu.eduwww.facebook.com/azusapacific

Graduating Difference MakersSince 1899.


MARCH-APRIL 2012

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7 NOTE FROM CATHERINEThe editor discovers the dancing heart of Pasadena

8-13 WHAT’S NEW TO DOGo, Think and Play

14 BOOKMARKEDCheck out the life of Queen Elizabeth and the history of vegetables

16 SHOP THE BLOCKExplore the boutiques of One Colorado

21 ARTAbsorb some culture at these exhibits

33 SEEN

34 INSIDERLarry Wilson plants tomatoes, gets lemons

23 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? Learn the moves to swing, folk, the Lindy Hopand the Argentine tango right here in town

28 HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?What to do now to prepare for the best garden ever, even if it is your very first

30 CULTIVATING SPRING FLOWERSThere is an art to selecting the flowers to plant to get the look you want

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

The Goorin Bros.

The Pacific Asia Museum

Learn to dance

Planting your first garden

Grow colorful spring flowers

On the CoverJasmine Cheung and Steve Sayer, Lindy Hop instructors.

PHOTO BY WATCHARA PHOMICINDA

MARCH-APRIL 2012 | ROSE | 7

II LOVE TO DANCE, BUT HAVEN’T done much lately. Now that ballroom teacher Gene DeWald has explained the benefits of dance (see page 23)— things like a longer life, better health and happiness — I’m there.

But what kind of dancing to do? Pasadena has classes, workshops and just have-fun days and nights of ballroom, swing, folk dance and the Lindy Hop. Once I decide on the genre, there’s a choice of styles: Fox Trot or tango? Waltz or cha-cha? Rumba or salsa? And what style of swing: East Coast, West Coast, Balboa, blues, Western? The good thing is our town offers them all. Get more details on pages 24-27.

I could practice dance steps in the backyard, except for the fact that we’ve planted vegetables and herbs in every available spot.

My favorite garden writers, Jack Christensen and Pam Waterman, have contributed their know-how to this issue (pages 28-32). Their newspaper columns over the years taught me a lot, not only about soil amendments and sprinkling systems, but about how healing that caring for a garden can be. And if you don’t have good luck one year, start fresh the next.

Sounds like good advice for just about everything in life.

Catherine

FROM THE EDITORCatherine Gaugh N

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GO FISHThe Fly Fishing Show will screen award-winning films from the International Fly Fishing Film Festival. The festival includes 16 short and feature length films that capture the passion and culture of fly fishing.March 3, 6:30 p.m. The Fly Fishing Show is March 3, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and March 4 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $10-$15. 866-481-2393; Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St.; flyfishingshow.com.

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT ARTPasadena resident and actor Bradley Whitford stars in “Art,” now playing at the Pasadena Playhouse. The play, written by Yasmina Reza (“God of Carnage”), is directed by nine-time Emmy Award-winner David Lee and also stars Michael O’Keefe and Roger Bart. It is about three close friends whose relationship becomes a battleground after one purchases a piece of modern art. Whitford, who won an Emmy for his role as Josh Lyman on NBC’s “The West Wing,” said the play explores the question of what makes a piece of art, but it is not a discussion of what art means. “It’s an incredibly smart, hilarious comedy that happens to be about art,” he said.Through Feb. 19. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave. $29-$59; 626-356-7529; www.pasadenaplayhouse.org

AFRICAN-AMERICAN INVENTIONSKareem Abdul-Jabbar and co-author Raymond Obstfeld will discuss and sign the kid-friendly “What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors” (Candlewick, $20). Open to those who buy the book at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd.Feb. 17, 7 p.m. All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave. 626-449-5320.

HAVING THE NIGHT OF HIS LIFEAh, springtime in the English countryside, time to choose a May Queen from the village’s lovely maidens. Alas, none are pure enough, so the town appoints Albert Herring, a meek mama’s boy, as its first May King. The reluctant young man finds his nerve after friends ply him with liquid courage. In Benjamin Britten’s “Albert Herring,” tenor Alek Shrader makes his Los Angeles Opera debut in the title role. Feb. 25-March 17. $40-$270. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. 213-972-8001, laopera.com.

ARE YOU INSANE?Who draws the line between sanity and insanity? “The Treatment” offers a world premiere of a new work of movement-based storytelling. In this adaptation of Chekhov’s story “Ward 6,” a doctor’s world is turned upside down when he befriends a mad philosopher in a remote mental hospital. Chekhov’s study of powerful people and their captives offers an intense physicality fused with ironic humor, dance and song.Feb. 25 -March 25. $29-$34. The Theatre at Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave. 626-683-6883, bostoncourt.com

ONE MAN, THREE FACESHershey Felder becomes composer Frederic Chopin, Maestro Leonard Bernstein and Dr. Charles Leale, a young medical student attending the show at Ford’s Theater when President Lincoln was shot. All three productions at the Pasadena Playhouse will star Felder and are directed by long-time collaborator Joel Zwick. This will be the world premiere of “Lincoln — An American Story,” told through the eyes of Dr. Leale, who finds himself at the center of American history while tending to Lincoln in his final hours.Chopin, Feb. 28 – March 7; Bernstein, March 10-18; Lincoln, March 27- April 7. Prices for two or all three shows vary from $75 to $208. The Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave. 626-356-7529, pasadenaplayhouse.org.

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HOT TIME IN AN OLD WORLDThe Hot Club of San Francisco presents Cinema Vivant, an evening of silent films accompanied by live gypsy swing. It creates a trip back in time to the idyllic French countryside of the 1930s as an imaginary gypsy caravan sets up camp in a field outside of town. A film projector will make images appear on the side of a barn as musicians join in with guitars and fiddles, matching the images with passion and humor.Feb. 25, 8 p.m. $20. Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. 626-395-4652. Caltech.edu.

A ROMAN PYRAMID SCHEMEAs tectonic plates of world politics shift and forces align to destroy them, legendary lovers Marc Antony and Cleopatra refuse to surrender their lust for life in William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy “Antony and Cleopatra.” Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott direct the play at A Noise Within. “The backdrop is almost eerily topical in that it’s really about politics and one-upmanship and armed conflict as several different people with their little factions are trying to become top dog,” Geoff Elliott said. “It’s a wild notion to think that we haven’t changed very much in 400 or 500 years.”March 3 -May 13; previews begin Feb. 25. $34 (previews) - $46. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. 626-356-3100; anoisewithin.org.

SEDUCTIVE SCHEHERAZADEGuest conductor Rossen Milanov of the Philadelphia Orchestra will lead the Pasadena Symphony in a sensuous, exotic music from “1001 Nights with Scheherazade.” Milanov also will conduct Borodin’s popular “Polovtsian Dances” and Saint Saens’ “Egyptian Concerto” played by the Colburn School’s piano virtuoso Esther Keel.Feb. 18, 2 and 8 p.m. Ambassador Auditorium, 131 S. St. John Ave. 626-793-7172; PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org.

MAYBE MAGIC COULD HELPPierre Corneille’s “The Illusion” is coming to A Noise Within. The story involves a father who, wishing to reunite with his estranged son, enlists the aid of a sorcerer. “It’s very funny, but it’s also very moving,” said director Casey Stangl. “There are some dark moments, but it’s so skillfully handled that the comedy always continues to come in and liven things.”March 10- May 19; $34 (previews)-$46. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. 626-356-3100; anoisewithin.org.

MUSIC, MARTINIS AND THE MAESTROCalifornia Philharmonic presents intimate Sunday afternoons at Noor Sofia with wine, cocktails, gourmet cuisine and a pre-concert talk by the Cal Phil Maestro Victor Vener. First up is “Brilliant Brass,” featuring two trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba, playing Pachelbel, Gershwin and Sousa. Food ranges from $6 to $14; wine is sold by the glass or bottle.March 20, 1 p.m. Noor Sofia, 260 E. Colorado Blvd. $35-$45. 626-300-8200; calphil.org.

YOUNG LADIES AND A FLYING DOCTORParson’s Nose Reader’s Theater Productions presents two one-act farces by Moliere. In “The Ridiculous Young Ladies,” two self-absorbed country girls think they know more about love than the average Parisian. In “The Flying Doctor,” a servant pretends to be a doctor to save a budding romance. Both are adaptations by Lance Davis.Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.; Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. Donations accepted. Lineage Performing Arts Center, 89 S. Fair Oaks Ave. 626-403-7667. parsonsnose.com.

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ROMANCE OF SONGReturning for its eighth performance with Coleman Chamber Music Association, the Takács String Quartet will perform a post-Valentine’s Day program. Countless composers have been inspired by romance, including Claude Debussy, whose Quartet in G minor, Opus 10 is featured. There are also works by Dvorak and Britten. Feb. 26, 3:30 p.m. $24-$45. Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. 626-395-4652. Caltech.edu.

ROSES, ROCKETS AND PASADENAThe Conference of California Historical Societies 2012 Symposium includes tours of JPL, Craftsman architecture and the Pasadena Museum of History Archives as well as lectures on topics such as the history of the Rose Bowl.Feb. 23-25. Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St. 626-577-1660, ext. 10. For a complete schedule, visit www.californiahistorian.com.

REDEFINE HOW YOU DINEIt’s that time of year again when local restaurants offer special menus for Pasadena Restaurant Week. More than 30 top local dining establishments are expected to participate, providing fixed-price lunches and dinners designed to show off their chefs’ specialties.March 25-30. Prices range from $15-$25 for lunch, and $26-$44 for dinner. www.pasadenarestaurant week.com.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDYThe All-American Boys Chorus will perform a “Salute to America’s Music.” The singers, 9- to 14 years old will offer the best of Broadway, cool California sounds and toe-tapping tunes from the Roaring Twenties. The 32-voice ensemble will also perform swinging songs from the Big Band era, Dixieland melodies and jazz classics.March 10, 8 p.m. $16-$26. Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. 626-395-4652. Caltech.edu.

FOLK MUSIC THAT’S FUNNYNew England folk singer/songwriter Cheryl Wheeler offers the perfect combination of music and laughter with songs such as “Estate Sale” and “Spud” at Caltech. She likes to say that her first performance was to a captive audience: as a child, she found an old toy ukulele in a neighbor’s attic so she serenaded her mother who was taking a bath at the time. Wheeler will be joined by singer/songwriter, pianist and guitarist Kenny White for even more fun.March 17, 8 p.m. $20. Caltech’s Beckman Institute Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. 626-395-4652. www.events.caltech.edu and http://folkmusic.caltech.edu.

HE’S A POET AND KNOWS ITTommy Hawkins, the former Los Angeles Laker who went into sports broadcasting, will discuss and sign his book, “Life’s Reflections: Poetry for the People” ($30.) The coffee-table size book is an eclectic collection of vernacular poetic narratives, each accompanied by a captivating painting or photograph that illustrates his words.Feb. 29, 7 p.m. Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd. 626-449-5320.

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THE FASHIONABLE TITANICKevin Jones, curator from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, will give an illustrated lecture exploring the fashions of the Titanic’s passengers and crew. The 2,200 people on board the doomed ocean liner were from 29 countries. The sartorial identities (passengers were designated first class, second class or steerage) and countries of origin will be discussed. April 12, 7:30 p.m. Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St. Doors open 6:30 p.m. for gallery viewing and wine and cheese reception. $5-$15. Reservations at 626-577-1660, ext. 10. pasadenahistory.org.

OH MY MARSThe von Karman Lecture Series, “Gale Crater: Exploring the Mars Science Laboratory Landing Site” will be given twice at two Pasadena locations. After an eight-month voyage to Mars, the new car-sized rover Curiosity will land at the foot of a three-mile high mountain inside the 96-mile wide crater named Gale.April 12, 7 p.m., JPL’s Theodore von Karman Auditorium, 4800 Oak Grove Drive. April 13, 7 p.m. Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. Free, but reservations are required for limited seating. 818-354-0112.

MAKING MOLECULESThe job of the synthetic chemist is never done. A tremendous amount of time is put into discovering new molecules and how to make them. For an intellectual, the process can be a terrific game, but it also serves a greater purpose. Caltech professor Jonas Peters explains the fun involved in molecular synthesis while conveying its importance. On this planet of increasing human population and limited natural resources, synthetic chemistry may be able to help provide food and fuel for all of earth’s inhabitants.March 14. 8 to 9:30 p.m. Free. Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. 626-395-4652.

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SHOPPING OUTSIDE

YOUR CITYIS SO LAST SEASON.GROW YOUR COMMUNITY. SHOP PASADENA.

Generously supported by: The Agency @ Art Center, City of Pasadena,

Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley

Newspaper Group.

12 | ROSE | MARCH-APRIL

Unused Medications

No Drugs Down the Drain!

Medications flushed down toilets and drains pollute the environment.

Take old meds to a Household Hazardous/Electronic Waste collection event, or seal

in containers and place in trash.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

WORKING TOGETHERTO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT


PLAY

READING TO THE DOGDogs are not only great pets, they also serve as superb listeners. For children, canines can be just what they need to improve literacy skills and make reading out loud a lot of fun. The Barks & Books program pairs elementary school-age children with gentle dogs. Made possible by volunteers from the Pasadena Humane Society, the program takes place once a month. Second Thursdays, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Free. Sierra Madre Library, 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. 626-355-7186; www.sierramadre.lib.ca.us.

MUSIC TO OUR EARSThe entire family can make beautiful music together during the Creative Art & Music Program taught by instructor Steven James. James specializes in working with children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. March 1-29. Call for classes and times. $160 per family. Paintbox Kids, 626-808-0330; www.paintboxkids.com/pbkids/ or www.playitbyearwithstevenjames.com

ADOPT A BUTTERFLYAt Kidspace, children can witness a fascinating transformation by adopting a live caterpillar, and later releasing it when it turns into a Painted Lady butterfly April 21-22.March 17-April 22. Kidspace Museum. 480 N. Arroyo Blvd. 626-449-9144; www.kidspacemuseum.org

A NIGHT OFF FOR PARENTSBetween work and soccer practice, and between making dinner and tidying up, parents need a little fun, too. Having somewhere to go is easy, but finding a sitter isn’t always a piece of cake. Rejoice! GymnastiKids provides three hours of fun and fitness on select Saturday nights for “Parents Night Out.” Space is limited, so call in advance to reserve.March 17 and April 21. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Call for prices and reservations. GymnastiKids, 2237 E. Colorado

Blvd. 626-796-5437; www.gymnastikids.com

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Don’t Repent,eat fish for Lent.

SERVING ALL YOUR FAVORITE DISHES

FROM ACROSS THE POND.

LITTLE BRITAINThe Best of British

Come visit our cozy piece of Britain right here on your door step.

Shepherds PieBangers ‘n’ Mash ~ Cornish Pasties

Salads ~ Seafood

and the Best Fish ‘n’ Chips this Side of the Atlantic.

488 North Allen Avenue,

Website: littleBritainpasadena.comEmail: [email protected]

Hours: Tuesday-Friday Open at 11am, Saturday Open at Noon, Sunday Open at 4pm

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Burlington Arcade380 S. Lake Ave., Suite 107, Pasadena 626.449.4070

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BookmarkedThe latest in our list of must-reads this season

By Karen Weber

BREAKDOWN (A V.I. WARSHAWSKI NOVEL)By Sara ParetskyMysteryPutnam Adult

Mystery novelist Sara Paretsky brings out another thriller featuring her 15th book about the female private detective V.I. Warshawski.Young girls are holding an initiation based on their favorite vampire series when they stumble across a real corpse stabbed through the heart as if he were a vampire. V.I. is called to rescue the girls, scions of some of Chicago’s most powerful families. Is this an attack on someone related to the girls, or is it something else?V.I. is a terrific character, tough, funny and smart. Join her in this latest adventure.

A PERFECT BLOOD (THE HOLLOWS, BOOK 10)By Kim Harrison Contemporary fantasyHarper Voyager

The follow up to “Pale Demon” brings back Rachel Morgan, a former Earth witch, now with demon-enhanced powers. She tries to renounce those powers, hiding magically so even the Inderlander government declares her dead. She tries to start a normal life, but we know how these things work out, don’t we? Rachel has fought many paranormal entities, but now humans may pose the most dangerous threat of all.There is a lot of backstory involved in this series, so it may be hard to pick this up as a first book. But if you’re a fan, you’ll want to see the tantalizing relationship developing between Rachel and Trent, as well as the intense story about ritual murders. Rachel’s decisions are driving her to her ultimate destiny. But destiny as what?

ELIZABETH THE QUEEN: THE LIFE OF A MODERN MONARCHBy Sally Bedell Smith BiographyRandom House

Acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith draws on interviews and documents to present the life story of Queen Elizabeth II.For 60 years, since she was merely 25, Queen Elizabeth has led her country. Meet her as a girl when her uncle’s abdication suddenly moves her into the path of the throne. See her falling in love with a navy cadet named Philip and repairing army trucks during World War II.When she becomes queen, step into the palace for a behind-the-scenes look at her daily routine and learn about her relationships with her own beloved husband and with her children and grandchildren and their many loves.Dedicated research brings the woman beneath the crown alive as a person as well as a monarch.

HOW CARROTS WON THE TROJAN WAR By Rebecca RuppNonfiction Storey

Publishing

Who knew the history of vegetables could be so amusing?These “Curious (but true) stories of common vegetables” feature tips on growing them, nutrition information and trivia, but most of all there’s history of our love-hate relationship with those vitally important vegetables (including watermelon).Trivia: In the Cannibal Islands, a red eggplant was prized as a stomach-settling accompaniment to a meal of hard-to-digest humans.A town in Germany holds a yearly white asparagus festival “Spargelzeit.”Nutrition: You get more lycophene from tomatoes in sauce than from raw tomatoes.Studies have shown onions may reduce blood sugar levels in diabetes, inhibit osteoporosis, reduce incidences of stomach and colon cancers and relieve asthma!History: Celery was once a fashion statement so expensive, it was served in vases that flaunted the leafy tops.Learning about Aztec foods, the Spaniards at first scorned chocolate, but adored chiles, adopting the red spice as a substitute to expensive black pepper.Gardeners, chefs and history buffs will enjoy this well written, trivia-packed book.

Available Recycling ProgramsYou Make the Difference

Contact the City of Pasadena626-744-4087

or email: [email protected]

RECYCLING

RESO

URCESReduce, Reuse, Recycle

www.cityofpasadena.net

• Compost Bins• Mulch• Bottles & Cans

• Sharps• Used Oil Recycling• CFL’s & Battery

Drop Off Locations

• Special Event Recycling• Christmas Tree Recycling• Bulky Item Pickup

• Curbside Recycling & Refuse Services

• Construction & Demolition Program


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The first time Dali Yu got her hands on a homemade bar of soap made by a friend, she wore it down to a sliver. And as that sliver made it made its sudsy escape in the palm of her hand, she panicked.

“I hadn’t even realized you could make soap at home, the old-fashioned way, and here I was, hooked,” Yu said. “I thought it was really strange that you could feel that way about soap.”

For the last eight years, Yu has done her best to provide the same habit-forming experience to her customers, concocting 30 different types of olive oil-based soap that can be lathered on in good faith; each bar is free of the synthetic lathering agents and the preservatives found in many commercially-produced soaps. The result is a mild and moisturizing cleansing for even the most sensitive skin.

A step into Yu’s on-site kitchen reveals the soap’s elemental beginnings.

There, great drums of olive oil and shea butter wait to be mixed with the likes of cinnamon cloves, poppy seed and oatmeal leaves, doled out for texture. For a subtle, fresh smell, Yu adds dollops of essential oils — lavender, eucalyptus, grapefruit and lemon grass.

The resulting loaves are things of beauty, from the refreshing peppermint-and-poppy-seed-speckled Tea Tree Wakeup to the swirled lavender eucalyptus bar made with shea butter.

Yu also whips up all-natural shampoo, which loyalists swear makes their hair feel thicker; Dead Sea salt scrubs and desert-island-worthy lip balms.

43 N. Fair Oaks Ave.11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; Noon-5 p.m. Sunday-Monday626-396-9996thesoapkitchen.com

n. Fair oaks ave.The Soap Kitchen

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49 W. Colorado Blvd.10 a.m. - 9 p.m Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday626-440-1895goorin.com

Hipsters with expertly manicured facial hair and Red Hat Society ladies agree: the hat is still very much an essential part of the well-appointed wardrobe.

If you’re of the same mind, it’s time to pay a visit to the Goorin Bros.’ Colorado Boulevard hat shop, which opened in June.

The Old Pasadena outpost packs all the fourth-generation company’s staple millinery: derbies, cloches, pinch-front fedoras and bowler hats, all with names that hint at bullet-holed backstories (Lefty DeCarlo, Vinnie the Brains, Bad Lollie). A center table arranged with props that play up the past (antique desk fans, stray Remington typewriters) showcases fedoras and stingy brim pork pies from the company’s Heritage Collection. Made from high quality wool, grosgrain ribbon bands and custom trims, the hand-blocked beauts recall a bygone, better-dressed

past. The Salvatore, a high-crown, deep navy wool fedora cuts a sleek, decidedly Don Draper silhouette. Nearby, a selection of ‘20s face-framing wool cloches

evoke a just-slipped-out-of-the-pages-of-Fitzgerald look.Looking for a spring topper? “You’re definitely going to start

to see more straw,” said Ron Schiller, a hatter whose penchant for plopping precisely-chosen hats on patrons’ heads often leads to instinctive purchases.

Schiller’s straw pick is The Ford, a light, breathable straw flat cap perfect for the stylish young

fogey hoping to evade sunburn while biking.And for the ladies? Play it coy like Carly Simon circa ‘72 in an

extra-wide brim floppy hat.

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12 Douglas Alley.10 a.m-9 p.m Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday626-792-4746elisab.com

Raised on Robinson’s May end-of-the-month sales and long hankering for a Westside boutique on the East side, Elisa Bruley was all but fated to open a shop of her own in Pasadena.

“I was raised an uber-shopper with my mom,” said Bruley, who opened Elisa B. in 1993. “It’s always been in my bloodstream. Having my own store has sort of taken care of that passion for shopping: I’m buying constantly!”

It’s little surprise then, that the 1,800-square-feet space seems like Bruley’s overgrown closet. Its racks filled with flowing maxi-dresses by moderately-priced Milly and ‘70s-minded tunics and blouses by cult fave Tucker.

Always keeping a close eye on what customers find covetable, Bruley carries choice, long-lasting pieces by in-demand designers, from sequined cocktail dresses from the Rachel Zoe Collection to cool-girl cotton essentials from T by Alexander Wang.

Shoes are given serious shelf space, too, including attention-calling Dolce Vita magenta wedges and minimalist suede platform sandals by Elizabeth and James (a collection by the Olsen twins). For less dressed-up occasions, there’s Toms of every stripe (herringbone, splatter paint, solids).

And what would a well-edited boutique be without stacks of denim to pair with that Philip Lim leopard-print blazer you scoped out? In the back, Bruley keeps replenished rows of jeans in every hue from Mother, Goldsign and J Brand.

Douglas AlleyElisa B.

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THE BIRTH OF L.A. CULTURE“L.A. Raw: Abject Expressionism in Los Angeles from 1945 to 1980” includes post-war American art in paintings, sculptures, photography and performances. Through May 20. $7. Pasadena Museum of California Art, 490 E. Union St. 626-568-3665; www.pmcaonline.org.

MUSEUM’S PAST LIVESThe Pacific Asia Museum was at first a home and an Oriental shop, best known for its Chinese Imperial roof and courtyard fish pond. Few realize that it has held a unique place in the art world. The venue’s current exhibit, “46 N. Los Robles: A History of the Pasadena Art Museum,” explores that past. Through April 8. $9. 46 N. Los Robles Ave. 626-449-2742; www.pacificasiamuseum.org

ARTNIGHTFifteen cultural institutions will open their doors and welcome visitors for the next ArtNight on March 9. Among them are the Armory Center for the Arts, Art Center, artWorks at Learning Works!, Kidspace, Lineage Performing Art Center, the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena City College, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History and the Pasadena Public Library. Free shuttles loop between venues. A few sites will even have visiting food trucks!March 9, 6-10 p.m. 626-449-6840; www.artnightpasadena.org.

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ROMANCE IN THE AIRLove and its symbols are explored in “Hearts & Flowers XXV” through work by artists around the corner and around the globe. See and shop for paintings, sculpture, photographs and jewelry.Through Feb. 18. Free. Folk Tree, 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave. 626-795-8733. www.folktree.com.

TWO VIEWSScenery and travel are the subject of two group exhibits of paintings, ceramics and jewelry at the Colonnade. “California Living: Deserts, Valleys, Mountains and Coastlines” can be seen through Feb. 29 and “Getting There - Old Places on Route 66, Planes, Trains, Ships & Automobiles: Modern and Historic” will be on view March 3-April 1. Free. Colonnade Art Gallery & Studio, 2421 E. Colorado Blvd. 626-239-3153. P

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Coin Connection39 Years of Experience

BUYINGBuying Type Coins U.S.

1966 AND BEFORE LINCOLN CENTS

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1/2 Cent 1793...................... $1,000 and up 1/2 Cent (other)...........................$5 and up Large Cent 1793...................$1,000 and up 2¢ Pieces .....................................$3 and up 3¢ pieces.....................................$3 and up 1/2 Dimes 1794-1805...............$500 and up 1/2 Dimes 1829-1873...................$5 and up U.S 5¢ 1866-1882........................$3 and up U.S 5¢ 1883-1912.......................25¢ and up U.S 5¢ Buff..................................15¢ and up U.S 10¢ Before 1808.................$100 and up U.S 10¢ 1809-1837........................$8 and up U.S 10¢ 1838-1891........................$5 and up U.S 20¢ 1875-1878.....................$25 and up U.S 20¢ 1796 ........................$5,000 and up U.S 25¢ 1804-1807....................$100 and up U.S 25¢ 1815-1837......................$15 and up U.S 25¢ 1838-1891.......................$5 and up U.S 50¢ 1796 and 1797.......$15,000 and up U.S 50¢ 1794-1806......................$75 and up U.S 50¢ 1807-1837......................$25 and up U.S 50¢ 1838-1891......................$10 and up U.S $1.00 1794 ....................$25,000 and up U.S $1.00 1795-1805.................$500 and up U.S $1.00 1836-1839..................$150 and up U.S $1.00 1840-1877....................$50 and up Trade Dollars ...............................$50 and up

GOLD COINS $1.00 U.S Gold ..........................$90 to $2,500 $2.50 U.S Gold ..........................$80 to $5,000 $3.00 U.S Gold ........................$350 to $3,500 $5.00 U.S Gold ........................$125 to $5,000 $10 U.S Gold ...........................$325 to $4,200 $20 U.S Gold ...........................$650 to $5,000 $20 High Relief .........................up to $50,000

WE BUY ALL SOLID GOLD ITEMS-NEW, USED OR BROKEN High School Rings........................ Up to $500 Wedding Bands......................... Up to $1500 Old Mountings ............................. Up to $700 Bracelets.................................. Up to $10,000 Necklaces ............................... Up to $15,000 Old Watch Cases..................... Up to $2,400 Charm .......................................... Up to $600 Dental Gold ........................ Bring in for cash Broken Chains..................... Bring in for cash

PLATINUM ALL PLATINUM JEWELRY – BRING IN FOR CASH Mountings ................................. Up to $2,500 Therm-Coupling Wire........ Bring in for testing Crucibles .......................... Bring in for testing Screen .............................. Bring in for testing

DIAMONDS IF YOUR ITEMS AREN’T BEING USED, BRING THEM IN FOR AN APPRAISAL AND CASH OFFER. 1/2 Carat....................................up to $2,400 3/4 Carat....................................up to $3,000 1 Carat .....................................up to $10,000 2 Carat .....................................up to $20,000 3 Carat .....................................up to $50,000 4 Carat ...........................Bring in for a quote Large diamonds much, much more. We buy old mine cut and European cut diamonds. We buy diamonds with or without GIA certificates

AVERAGE PRICES – COMMON DATE – 1964 AND BEFORE Silver Dollars (before 1935).. $20 to $25,000 Half Dollars..................................$7 and up Quarters .....................................$3 and up Dimes ................................... $1.40 and up

1909-S and 1931-S....................$20 and up 1909-S VDB .............................$400 and up 1914-D .......................................$75 and up 1910-S, 1911-S, 1913-S, 1912-S, 1914-S, 1915-S, 1922-D, 1926-S and 1931-D............ $5.00 1924-D.................................................. $15

Foreign Coins (excluding Canada cents) ....3¢ each and up Proof Sets Confederate Currency (before 1928) U.S Paper Currency (before 1928)

PLEASE CHECK AGAIN TO SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE ITEMS WE ARE BUYING

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Our admissions coordinators can help you make

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IIf you were to peep Into the wIndows of Gene DeWald’s Pasadena home, chances are you’d catch him dancing.

Whether it’s in his studio or simply transversing from the living room to the kitchen, DeWald has a spring in his 86-year-old step and such a love for dance that he is on a constant mission to spread the joy.

DeWald has taught and competed in ballroom dance for more than five decades. He has appeared in movies and television commercials and still teaches in his private home studio. His favorite dance is also the one most requested by students: the Argentine tango.

“What captures people is the music of the tango,” DeWald said. “I teach dance

with elegance because if you don’t dance with elegance, you’re just doing steps, and that’s not dancing. Feeling the music and the music itself is what has made tango and dancing what it is today.”

DeWald is quick to cite a lengthy list of the benefits of dancing, including a longer life, better health, more social interaction and happiness. He adds that, unlike running or other sports activities, dance doesn’t strain muscles nor stress hips, knees or ankles.

The ballroom can also provide romance, as DeWald met his wife Milli at a dance competition. In 1952, the couple moved to Pasadena, where they opened a dance studio. They also taught ballroom dance for the Pasadena and Glendale departments of recreation and went on to open a ballroom

in San Gabriel in 1956. The DeWalds retired in 1982, but their students kept asking them to resume teaching, so Gene DeWald took the floor again in 1998.

Milli DeWald died in 2009. DeWald’s current dance partner is Noelle North, an actress and social dance instructor at Pasadena City College.

Along with his mission to get adults dancing, DeWald has been working to get ballroom dance back in the schools, as he believes it will help end violence, drug use and other issues that young people face today. Dance teaches children and teens respect and helps them do better in school and physically, it’s good for all ages, he said.

“Once you learn to dance, it’s a joy for life,” DeWald said. R

GENE DEWALDPrivate ballroom dance instruction by appointment1154 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena$75 average session, single or couple626-794-7555www.genedewald.com

Gene dewald, 86, cutting the rug and teaching the tango with his dance partner, noelle north.

fACe the MusIC — And dAnCe!

THE TANGO: Grace is strictly the key

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GENE DEWALDPrivate ballroom dance instruction by appointment1154 N. Lake Ave., $75 average session, single or couple626-794-7555www.genedewald.com

LINDY GROOVE7:30 p.m.-midnight ThursdaysPasadena Masonic Temple, 200 S. Euclid Ave., $8; includes lesson, 7:30-8:15 p.m. Free parkingwww.lindygroove.com


TThe lighTs are dimmed and The wood floor shines, beckoning dancers to move to the music flowing from the band on stage.

And move they do, at different paces: high energy to slow stepping, beginners and experts, casually attired or dressed to the nines. Just beyond is a patio, where some people are sipping lemonade and chatting.

It’s a typical Saturday night with the Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association, which draws from 150 to 250 people each week for its swing dances at Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church.

Erin and Tami Stevens founded the ballroom dance association in 1983. The sisters, who share the same birthday three years apart, grew up with dance. Their mother danced professionally in Hollywood in the 1940s and their father taught them ballroom basics for school dances.

Tami Stevens studied dance at Pasadena City College and was president of the

school’s ballroom dance club. Erin Stevens has degrees in choreography and dance instruction from UC Irvine and taught at several studios. They also wrote “Swing Dancing (The American Dance Floor)” (Greenwood, $35).

“I liked teaching dance, but I didn’t like contracts,” Erin Stevens said. “I thought we could do this differently.”

The sisters offer weekly lessons in American social dance styles; creativity and improvisation are encouraged. Students can sign up for a single class or a series.

Swing is the most popular dance here, and lessons are offered in the Lindy Hop and East Coast, West Coast and Balboa swing, as well as blues, a slow version of swing. All styles offer exercise and fun, and the music is a bonus.

Dancers of all levels and ages are welcome, as are people who want to just sit and listen to the music, which runs the gamut of big band, ‘40s and ‘50s style groups, uptempo, R&B and more. There’s

no dress code.

During the week, the dance association

offers classes and workshops in many other

dance styles, including the collegiate shag,

salsa and street hustle. The main ballroom

six-week series features the foxtrot, waltz,

cha cha, rumba and East Coast swing.

“It sounds like a lot, but we show how

similar the dances are,” Tami Stevens said.

“The same steps can be used by altering the

rhythm.”

The sisters encourage wallflowers to

give dancing a try, as it provides aerobic

exercise and you can control how much

dancing you do and choose the style that

suits you best.

“I’m not somebody who will go out and

jog, or go to the gym, but every Saturday

night, I feel like I get such a workout here;

and you don’t feel like you’re exercising-

you’re just having fun,” Tami Stevens said.

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PASADENA BALLROOM DANCE ASSOCIATION SWING DANCE8-11:30 p.m. SaturdaysGrace Hall, Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church, 73 N. Hill Ave.$15 includes refreshments and a dance lesson from 7:30-8 p.m.626-799-5689pasadenaballroomdance.com

Swinging on the dance floor

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EEvEry Thursday nighT, morE Than 350 people walk up the steps of the Pasadena Masonic Temple and into its ballroom. Here, in the softly lit room, jazz, blues and swing music fills the air. The wood floor beckons.

“Dancing is the great equalizer,” Lindy Groove founder Lance Powell said. “It’s not a pickup joint, not that people haven’t met here. People are here to dance, and if they think they’re going to enjoy dancing with you, they’re going to ask you regardless of age. And there’s nothing weird about it.”

Lindy Groove focuses on the Lindy Hop, although occasionally some outside steps can be spotted on the dance floor. Each session starts with 45 minutes of classes, from beginning to advanced, followed by open dance. Dancers are of all ethnicities and range in age from teen to senior. Some people come dressed in jeans and T-shirts, while others are in their going-out best.

All biases and barriers are left at the Lindy Groove door; it’s not uncommon to see a dapper young man dancing with a comfortably dressed grandmother.

Most of the time, dancers vary partners.“If you dance with the same person all

the time, you learn their style and begin to anticipate it,” Powell said. “You don’t truly learn to follow. If you are the lead, you get sloppier. Some of the worst dancers are the ones that will only dance together.”

The Lindy Hop evolved from social

dances in the 1930s at venues such as the Savoy in Harlem, Powell said. Originally, partners held each other close as they moved, but over time, a move called a swingout began appearing, during which

the lead dancer and follower were separated for a moment, so that the follower could do her own styling in the steps. Six-count swing dances, as well as the eight-count Lindy Hop, emerged out of this change. Then there’s the air step, when the lead dancer throws the partner into the air.

Powell began taking lessons in Lindy Hop and the more he got into it, the more he realized that it was the kind of music that made him want to move. Problem was, the music is rarely played.

“I started realizing that I wasn’t hearing the kind of music that inspired me to dance,” Powell said. “In other cities you could hear it, but not in L.A.”

Powell started putting on his own dance event, flying in deejays from other parts of the country to play the tunes. The musical repertoire includes artists such as Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

Word spread and, over the last 10 years, Lindy

Groove has become a popular night spot.

The Lindy Hop is fun when the follower has the ability to follow a good lead no matter what he throws in, but it’s even better when the dancers click.

“There are some very skilled dancers who can collaborate and have a conversation, where the follower can hear something in the music,” Powell said. “I can detect that she’s hearing that, and I can respond or give her space to follow that or I can play off of that.

“For me, when you have those moments, that’s magic.” R

LINDY GROOVE7:30 p.m.-midnight ThursdaysPasadena Masonic Temple, 200 S. Euclid Ave., Pasadena$8; includes lesson, 7:30-8:15 p.m. Free parkingwww.lindygroove.com

The Lindy Hop: getting the groove

“dancing is the great equalizer,” Lindy groove founder Lance Powell said.

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GENE DEWALDPrivate ballroom dance instruction by appointment1154 N. Lake Ave., $75 average session, single or couple626-794-7555www.genedewald.com

LINDY GROOVE7:30 p.m.-midnight ThursdaysPasadena Masonic Temple, 200 S. Euclid Ave., $8; includes lesson, 7:30-8:15 p.m. Free parkingwww.lindygroove.com


cChildren usually learn a little folk danCe. So why don’t adults keep up with it?

Folk dancing is a chance to meet new people and socialize. It offers insight into other cultures. And it’s good exercise, as folk dances range from walking pace to extremely vigorous moves.

Folk dance literally means dance of the people. The dances come with stories about cultures and lifestyles from around the globe. Some steps mimic work, as when dancers move their arms as if harvesting a crop. Another example: When dancers tread the floor lightly, they represent the belief that people don’t own the land they live on.

“One thing everybody gets, is it’s just plain a lot of fun,” said Marc Rayman. “The music is pretty and interesting, and you truly get the best of the whole world.”

Rayman and his wife Jan of La Canada Flintridge have been members of the Pasadena Folk Dance Co-Op for 25 years. They met at a folk dance group in Boulder, Colorado, and when they moved here, one of the first things they did was look for a folk dance group.

They found the Pasadena Folk Dance Co-Op, which was started in the 1940s.

“It’s a vibrant group,” Marc Rayman said. “Dancing on Friday is my reward for getting through the week.”

Each meeting starts with a lesson for beginning dancers, followed by an intermediate class and then an assortment of dances. Each dance is repeated for eight weeks: four sessions to learn it and four more to review and practice. Recorded

music is normally used, but if the month should happen to have five Fridays, the regular meeting is put aside for dancing to a live band.

The dances and music are from more than 60 countries, including Armenia, France, Scotland, India, Israel, Germany, China, Philippines, Middle East, Canada, United Kingdom and the U.S.

There are no costumes nor special attire required, and casual clothes and comfortable shoes are recommended. No partner is needed to participate, as the bulk of the dances are performed in a circle or a line. Any couples’ dances are mixers,

which involve changing partners at various points in the piece.

The Co-Op members and participants are mostly 50-70 years old, but sometimes they bring their children and grandchildren. They hail from many walks of life, too. Rayman is the chief engineer and mission director of the Dawn Mission at JPL, while his wife Jan studies the human brain. There are also teachers, a postal carrier, an actor and writer, an ex-professional dancer, a handyman and a former police officer.

New members to the Co-Op are welcome. No registration is needed to attend the sessions; just stop by, watch for a while and then join the fun.

“We’re a social organization,” Rayman said. “We’re not policing dances, we’re not competing, we’re not imposing rigid requirements. We’re there to have fun with neat music doing cool dances.

“My philosophy is, if you’re out there moving to the music and smiling, you’re doing the right thing.” R

(re)discovering dance roots

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PASADENA FOLK DANCE CO-OPFridays. 7:45-9 p.m. lessons; 9-11 p.m. dancing.Throop Unitarian Church, 300 S. Los Robles Ave.$6626-792-9118www.pasadenafolkdancecoop.org

marc rayman from the Pasadena folk dance Co-op teaches the israelian dance “avi avi” in a folk dance class


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EThe Argentine TangoCaltech Ballroom Dance Club/Caltech Tango ClubOpen dance 10 p.m.-3 a.m. third Friday of the month, Dabney Lounge, 1200 E. California Blvd. $10. Workshops and classes available. See website for schedule and fees,http://ballroom.caltechdance.org.

Fred Astaire Dance StudioBeginning classes, 7 p.m. Wednesdays; intermediate and advanced, 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, plus a workshop at 1 p.m. and practice at 1:45 p.m. Wednesdays. Call for fees.1368 N. Lake Ave., 626-797-4700, www.pasadenadance.com

Milonga Con Sabor A TangoDance 9 p.m.-2 a.m. third Saturday of the month, $10; with lesson, $15. All-level lessons, 8-9 p.m. 1368 N. Lake Ave.; 818-968-2500, www.consabor-atango.com

The Sonata RoomBeginning classes 11 a.m., intermediate I, noon and intermediate II, 1 p.m., Saturdays. Group class, $12 or $50 for five sessions; single or couple private class, $75. 210 N. First Ave., Arcadia; 626-286-0373, www.latindancepros.com

Tango Academy of PasadenaOpen dance 5:30 p.m.-midnight Sundays, $20.

Beginning classes 8:30-10:30 p.m. Fridays and 5-7 p.m. Saturdays; intermediate, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Wednesdays; advanced, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Thursdays. Call for fees. 57 Palmetto Drive; 626-584-0774,www.tangoacademypasadena.com

The Lindy HopMemories8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Mondays. $3. Advanced lesson, 7 p.m., intermediate, 8 p.m. and beginning, 9 p.m. Call for fees. 12901 Philadelphia St., Whittier; 714-504-9232, www.memoriesdancing.com

The Swing Session9 p.m. Tuesdays. $7. Beginning lesson, 8:30-9 p.m. Rose City Ballroom at Paseo Colorado, 280 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; www.theswingsession.com

Third Saturday Swing9 p.m.-1 a.m. third Saturday of the month. $10; after 11 p.m., $3. Beginning-advanced lessons, 8-9 p.m. Fred Astaire Dance Studio, 1368 N. Lake Ave.; 323-459-2303, www.thirdsaturdayswing.com

Folk danceBallet Folklorico Juvenil de Pico RiveraBeginning-advanced Mexican dance, 6-8:30 p.m.

Mondays. Call for fees.Durfee Elementary School, 4220 Durfee Road, Pico Rivera; 562-696-6917

Fantasy Folk ClubAll classes taught in Chinese. Beginning international dance, 7-11 p.m. Fridays; intermediate, 7:30-10 p.m. Tuesday, $6. CSM Trading Inc., 9640 Klingerman St., South El Monte; 323-599-6688 Advanced international dance, 2-6 p.m. Sundays, $6.China Press, 2121 W. Mission Road, Alhambra; 626-454-3181

Mountain DancersIntermediate international, 1:30-3:30 p.m. first and third Tuesday of the month, $4.Women’s Club of South Pasadena, 1424 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena;626-355-9220

Rainbow Senior ClubIntermediate international, 3-6 p.m. Sundays, $8. Joslyn Adult Center, 210 N. Chapel Ave., Alhambra; 626-614-8625

Sierra FolkdancersBeginning-intermediate international, 7:45-9:15 p.m. Mondays, call for fee.Temple City Christian Church, 9723 Garibaldi Ave., Temple City; 626-893-0303

Learn to dance

bob paz photography

brookside golf club

626.577.4497 Ext.206facebook.com/brooksidegc


II am goIng to have a garden thIs year. Last year I just never quite got around to it. So, in effect, I will be starting all over again. No doubt you plan to have a garden this year, too.

Maybe I’ll grow this year’s garden in containers. Or maybe I’ll do both – with the taller plants in the garden plot and the shorter plants in raised containers.

Vegetables and fruits need full sun all day long, so I need to choose a sunny spot. Naturally, my best site is loaded with weeds.

PrePare the PLotI will remove the weeds and rototill the

soil. Or, if the weeds haven’t formed seeds yet, I can just rototill them into the ground

along with some aged and screened steer manure. The manure doesn’t offer much nutritional value, but it does provide beneficial microorganisms and a wonderful staging area for the nutrients that plants need.

Rather than rototilling, I could dig deep holes, sprinkle a quarter cup of plant food into each hole, and fill the holes with composted steer manure mixed with the excavated soil. Then I plant directly on top of each filled hole. Micronutrients may be added a few weeks later, as the plants grow.

add nUtrIentsAll plants require nitrogen, phosphorus

and potassium, often identified by their

chemical symbols, N, P and K. In general, plants use phosphorus to build roots, flowers, fruits and seeds. They use nitrogen to form healthy leaves, and potassium to make effective use of the available nitrogen, phosphorus and micronutrients.

Our SoCal soils generally contain an OK amount of phosphorus, but they are notoriously low in nitrogen, potassium and important micronutrients, such as copper, manganese and zinc.

Look for plant food labels with N, P and K as a three-number formula, showing the percentage of each element by weight.

Flowering and fruiting plants need a fertilizer blend with a higher percentage of phosphorus, while leafy plants need a higher percentage of nitrogen.

AT HOME:A FIRST GARDEN

Story by Jack chrIstensen

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Micronutrients allow plants to develop optimal flavor and sweetness, especially in fruits and tomatoes. Feed about twice a year, not only with a plant food that has N, P and K, but also with the chelated forms of micronutrients in products such as Grow More Citrus Grower Blend Micronutrients and Tru-Green Citrus Grower Mix, available at many nurseries and garden centers.

USE CONTAINERS

Most vegetables will grow well in containers as long as the container bottoms have drainage holes and a good, composted organic soil mix is used. Water regularly, but do not keep the soil constantly moist, and feed at least monthly.

Converted plastic trash cans work especially well for root crops like potatoes and peanuts; potatoes need to be started in January or February.

I also like to use home-made planter boxes at least eight inches deep, raised up on ordinary concrete blocks stacked two or three high.

CHOOSE THE PLANTSObviously we plant things we like to

eat, but I try to choose those that provide an ongoing harvest, such as bush beans, cowpeas (black-eyed peas), chard, chives, cucumbers (bush-type), eggplants, nasturtiums, okra, parsley, peppers, squash and tomatoes.

This time of year we can also put in cilantro, lettuce, green onions, peanuts and spinach.

Wait until March or April to plant

cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, eggplants,

okra, peppers, pumpkins, New Zealand

spinach, squashes, tomatillos, tomatoes,

zucchini and watermelon.

You may intersperse beets, carrots,

radishes and turnips among these other

plants all year long.

SEEDS OR STARTSCilantro, carrots, corn, parsnips, radishes,

squashes and specialty items do best when

planted from seed. Everything else does

better when planted from already-started,

vigorously-growing pony-packs.

When planting tomatoes, set them deep

in the soil, leaving only the top inch or two sticking out.

The buried stem will form extra roots and make the plants stronger and more productive.

Don’t get carried away with the squashes unless you like to eat lots and lots, because they tend to be very productive.

One plant for one or two people will provide all the squash you want, and maybe more.

BE PATIENTGrowing a garden

teaches patience. Most items require two to three months before you can harvest. Fruit trees take even longer – usually about three years before the first fruits are ready.

That’s why tomato varieties such as Early Girl are popular – they begin to yield ripe tomatoes in as little as seven weeks.

Carrots take three or four months to

mature, but radishes are ready to eat in just three or four weeks.

I sometimes plant carrots and radishes together. The carrot seeds are just starting to come up when the radishes are being pulled out. After the radishes are pulled, the remaining tiny carrots are about an inch or two apart, which is just right.

Harvesting is the obvious compensation for gardening. And for veggies, whether they grow in containers or in the ground, harvesting the produce as it matures actually stimulates ongoing production.

So let’s go plant that garden. This is going to be a fun and rewarding year. R


WWant a colorful garden full of floWers but not sure how to make it happen?

Before you plan and plant, know that the most important ingredient for flowering success is good soil. The truth is that none of the soils in the San Gabriel Valley are naturally good enough to assure garden success. Our soil is mainly clay and needs amendments to lighten it up.

Local nurseries have given me several suggestions on how to have colorful blooms to enjoy when winter is over, and I’ll share them with you.

coMPostWhen you’re ready to plant your flowers in February and March,

incorporate some brand of compost as you go. Bellefontaine Nursery in Pasadena offers Soil Building Compost in three cubic foot bales. It contains chicken manure, kelp meal, bat guano and mushroom compost — all good amendments for the garden. Every nursery will have some type of compost to help break up clay soil and cut down on weeds.

Committed gardeners spend years improving their soil and they’re still not satisfied. So start now by incorporating compost as

you plant to lighten the soil and make it easier to work with.

tHe trutH aBout rosesMany gardeners use roses for color in spring and summer, but

your first-year bloom on bare root roses won’t bring you as much color as will a selected blend of quick flowering annuals and perennials.

Let’s deal with flowers you can buy now in pony packs or containers. Choosing plants offers the most fun in gardening. There are so many colorful and interesting plants that some gardeners go crazy when they visit nurseries. After years of trying to grow everything that blooms, I’ve finally settled down and only plant flowers that I know will thrive in my garden.

annuals and PerennIalsAnnuals bring the surge of color that make our gardens so

beautiful in spring. Ramon Franco, owner of Lincoln Avenue Nursery in Pasadena, has four favorite annuals for spring color: snapdragons, pansies, dianthus and Iceland poppies.

Franco’s favorite perennials for spring color include scabiosa,

spring flowers Story and photos by PaM WaterMan


Clockwise from top: Sweet peas, an assortment of spring flowers, Nasturtiums and African Daisies.


lavender, achillea and hollyhocks.For novice gardeners, Alan Uchida,

co-owner of Bellefontaine, recommends calendula, Iceland poppies and nasturtiums for easy-care spring color. He also likes the delicate flowers of geraniums, some of which flower almost year round. He also recommends bush sweet peas and alyssum.

Uchida’s favorite perennials for spring bloom include lavender and columbine, but he advises that they be planted at the edge of a flowering border since they need less water than others.

THE COLORSWhat about color combinations? When

you shop at the nursery, keep your color scheme in mind. Dianthus, also called pinks, won’t blend well with the orange and yellow colors of Iceland poppies. The poppies, however, will look good with the orangey and yellow blooms of calendula. And nasturtiums with their mostly orange color and charming fragrance and old-fashioned look, would complete this flowering bed.

You can purchase six packs of most of these plants, but avoid packs that are

already in flower. It takes a lot of the plant’s energy to bloom with so little root space.

PLANTING OPTIONSLoosen the roots when you take them

out of the plastic pots to plant. Add some starter fertilizer to the soil. Many spring plants such as lavenders and geraniums are only offered in four-inch containers. Their roots need to be loosened as well when you plant them.

Should you get a late start to your spring planting, consider gallon containers. They’re more expensive, but will have a bigger root system.

PAM’S GARDENMy suggestions for a new spring

garden are based on real experience. The December windstorm caused havoc in my front garden, flattening more than half the plants. I still haven’t finished cleaning up the mess, but I’ll have to begin planting soon.

Sweet peas are a must. Their color and fragrance are beguiling. Perhaps I’ll find a buddleia, a perennial bush that attracts butterflies, to plant in the back with the

sweet peas and gaura.

Gaura, another perennial, can get

weedy in a few years but new plants

are well-behaved and colorful. I’ll find

some lavender in four-inch pots. Next, I’ll

plant geraniums, the most colorful and

foolproof flower I know. A few white or

yellow marguerites would add lots of color

when they bloom. Then some pansies,

nasturtiums and alyssum.

The hardest part will be color

coordination. But since most of the plants

I’ve chosen have pastel flowers, perhaps I’ll

plant the nasturtiums in another part of the

garden.

GO DO IT!Let’s get busy soon. Spring will be here

before we know it. Give your newly-

planted garden a weekly dose of liquid

fertilizer and you’ll get plenty of flowers.

Nothing is more satisfying than coming

home and seeing spring color in front or

looking out the kitchen window to see

bright blooms. Good luck! R

A geranium brightens this corner.


SEE

N

Amahl and the Night VisitorsThe cast and crew of the Opera Posse-produced revival of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” took time out to pose for photographs during opening night Dec. 9 at the Pasadena Playhouse. Clockwise, from top left: Linella Raff, Caleb Glickman, and Micaela Accardi; Malcolm McDowell and “Amahl” director Stephanie Vlahos; Stanton Hunter, Suzanna Guzman; and Greg Fedderly.

Phenomenal WomenThe Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of Links, Inc. honored “Phenomenal Women” during its annual holiday benefit for the Pasadena-Altadena Community Endowment Fund. at Noor in Pasadena on Dec. 4. Clockwise, from top left: honorees Deborah Sanchez, Michaela Pereira and Jaylene Moseley; honoree Maureen Tyson, center, with her daughters, Michelle and Amber Tyson; Patricia Harris; Faye Davidson, Barbara Coleman, Eddie Newman, Karen Guinn and Cynthia Roye.

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OTO

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INSI

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You can bring the tomatoes

E

Larry Wilson is public editor of the Pasadena Star-News and the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers.

EVERY gaRdEn is mY fiRst gaRdEn.By which I mean, I start fresh and enthusiastic every

spring, which in Southern California means mid- to late winter, and by the real summertime, everything’s gone to hell in a trug.

See? I know my gardening terms. Trugs — those nicely woven wooden carriers for carting your abundant garden bounty, your veritable cornucopia — about.

I’ve had a nice, flat moderate-big yard of my own for a quarter-century. I have two raised vegetable beds on automatic irrigation in an enclosed yard — the tomato yard, in the family vernacular.

By late summer, when I listen to Garrison Keillor’s annual Lake Wobegon lamentation about there being so many tomatoes in the garden that there’s nothing for the Ingqvist boys to do but have a gigantic tomato fight, I’ve got — well, several tomatoes. In the high single digits if it’s a good year.

And some worm-eaten basil and, actually, a fair amount of very fine tarragon, not that I’ve grown it from teeny-tiny tarragon seeds from the Lincoln Avenue Nursery or anything. I buy it in pots and manage not to kill it before I use it. It’s not as if it grows up under my care or anything.

Remember Tomatomania at the late, lamented, way fancy Hortus nursery on Orange Grove? I bought every heirloom they jacked up the price on for years, and then managed to keep the plants green and tall until August, when they turned brown and wilted. Sin tomates for the most part. We are never deep in the make-it-ourselves marinara sauce, nor do we get those fabulous cold-plate loads of fresh greens, zebra-stripes and yellows popularized by brilliant growers like my friends Jeanne and Martin Kelley in recent decades, topped with a vinaigrette. One lunch would use up my whole crop.

I have my own compost, two well-tended heaps. I use the best fertilizers. Martin’s guys double-dug the beds last year just in case they had got root-bound. In addition, my sister Victoria gave me one of those plastic boxes that grows great tomatoes guaranteed with no need to add anything over the

summer but water. I got a handful of cherries, sure. Cherries are my best tomato. Dozens — perhaps I got dozens.

It’s a watering thing, you say. Too much, which encourages the green foliage and not the red (or yellow, purple, whatever) fruit. I have indeed adjusted the watering, sometimes parching the plants within an inch of their lives. It does not produce tomatoes.

Bottom line is it’s a light thing. We don’t get full sun in our tomato yard. There’s a pepper tree on one side and a hedge on the other. I figure it’s got like 75 degrees of sky above it. I think you need more for tomatoes.

I could tear up our tiny lawn and would probably grow them like a Minnesota Italian. Instead, I’ll try again this year in the tomato yard, hoping against all reason for a different outcome.

Meyer lemons? I own the best Meyer lemon tree on the planet. Produces literally thousands, 11 months of the year. I baby it, prune it, deep-water it, fertilize it just so. It is very happy and productive. We cook with them every night. If you will provide the tomato salad, I’ll bring the Meyer lemon tarragon dressing, come high summer. R sh

utt

ERst

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BY LaRRY WiLson

The winter months are approaching and the weather is cooling so it is the time to cut back on watering your lawn and outdoor plants. Cooler temperatures and shorter daylight hours contribute to lower water needs. Turf grasses also go dormant during winter to prepare for the springtime growing season.

Watering too much is the cause of many common plant problems. During the colder, damper winter months it may even be time to stop watering your lawn all together for a while. A good rain may even eliminate the need for watering for as long as two weeks.

Overwatering literally drowns plants, rotting the roots and inhibiting nutrient absorption. You can check how well your soil retains moisture by digging into the root zone with a garden trowel. If the soil feels moist there is no need to water. Wait a day or two and check the soil again.

Water runoff is water that spills over onto your curbs, driveway and other areas you did not intend to water and it does not help your lawn or plants! Stop watering whenever runoff occurs, especially on slopes or on compacted, dry soils. Consider watering on timed cycles, a few minutes of water followed by a break and then another few minutes of watering, to allow moisture to soak into the ground. Avoid watering when it is windy to reduce evaporative loss and to prevent water being blown onto hardscaped areas such as sidewalks and driveways that don’t need water. You can have healthier plants, save money on water bills, and conserve precious water by learning to give your lawn and garden the right amount of water and no more. Figuring out how much water your lawn and garden really need during anytime of the year is easy with the Watering Index and Calculator found athttp://www.bewaterwise.com/calculator.html

Wintertime Means Less Watering

USGVMWD ROSE 2012.indd 1 12/12/11 10:40:09 AM

rose magazine feb., 12, 2012

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