when neighbors look out for neighbors, something beautiful happens
May 2026. By Cassy Aoyagi: When a loved and lovely client invited me to attend Pasadena Beautiful’s Golden Arrow Awards, my heart flipped and fluttered. Its always fun to spend time with a friend – even better to see dear ones honored. I had no idea my heart had so many strings to pull until the ceremony! Pasadena Beautiful served hope, inspiration and community along with the yummy cookies.
Pasadena Beautiful showcased the beauty of Pasadena’s residents as well as its gardens. Award-winner after award-winner noted how they thought of their neighbors as they created their gardens. This was particularly true among those that survived the Eaton Fire. Each acceptance reminded me of how much we, as Angelenos, truly love and look out for one another. Heart flutters.
Of course, I shouldn’t have been quite so surprised! Our clients guided our design for their award-winning space with their neighbors in mind. They hoped to keep with their Pasadena neighborhood’s overall aesthetic beauty – they also wanted the space to save the community water and wildfire danger.
“Everyone was especially proud of the Eaton Fire survivors. As their neighbors rebuild, their yards
Sara Edwards, President, Pasadena Beautiful
serve as a landscaping template of what makes sense in these times of climate change and extreme weather.”
The award-winning garden is a verdant example of how layered and lovely those that save us and our neighborhoods can be. It brought an upward spiral of beauty and benefits, from safety to water, time and money savings. Landscape transformations like this are more than beautiful – they are powerful.
In the front garden alone, tweeting Toyon, blooming Palo Verde and Strawberry Tree, as well as fragrant California Lilac replace walls of uniform Cypress Sentinels.
Fragrant native sages and succulents offer more color and texture than the once ubiquitous foundation junipers. On an average day, the garden’s meandering paths add to a sense of structure, encourage a wander into the blooms, and ease access for home and plant maintenance.
On days like we saw in 2025, paths and patios provide firefighters with a safe space to stand and operate. When our clients returned to check on their home after the fire, they expected loss. Instead, they found their home – and a fire hose. The firefighter who retrieved the hose explained they had used the space to defend neighboring homes. That’s our kind of beautiful.
“We’ve seen video of that night of our yard. The small fires [in our garden] just couldn’t develop into anything bigger, thankfully.”
Golden Arrow-Winning Pasadena Homeowner
Pasadena Beautiful noted that, “Ultimately, the event highlighted how modern landscaping is evolving from a purely aesthetic choice into a vital safety measure.” I think that’s right, and I hope Angelenos come to see that safety need not be an aesthetic sacrifice. We can be more lush, more leafy, more green, all while saving water, wildlife, time, money and ourselves. The even greater beauty is that, in acting with hope and agency, we are loving one another. As we do.
To our dear client and friend, thank you for including me in the event and on this adventure. That’s the best award.
More Information
See the Pasadena Beautiful 2026 Award Ceremony Video, and their report in Pasadena Beautiful News. Read more about the Golden Arrow Awards.
The Plant Palette
This lush, leafy, lovely plant palette consists of foliage known to hold its hydration through LA’s hot, dry summers and Santa Ana windy-winters. That said, no plant is fireproof, and the same plant can have very different impacts depending upon where it is planted and how it is maintained. For these reasons, a 5-foot ember resistant path sits between this home and its low water, low maintenance foliage.
