I heard about the Gardens at Lake Merritt last year from a Tree
ID classmate while attending Lake Merritt College. My fellow student raved
about all the gardens located close to Fairyland by Lake Merritt. I’ve been
around Lake Merritt a few times, and thought I had seen the Gardens, but my
gardening buddy, Ruth, and I decided to see if we had missed something. Recall
that we are visiting Bay Area gardens to study their design, plantings,
infrastructure, and winter charms. Turns out, there is a gem of a garden
complex at 666 Bellevue Avenue in Oakland.
Instead of a single garden, we discovered a series of
gardens, almost like the garden rooms we read about from garden history. We only had
a couple of hours, so we tried to see as much as we could in a quick survey. Some
high-lights include a tiny, serene Japanese garden, and an extensive Bonsai collection
(most of the deciduous trees were without leaves, so you could appreciate their foundational forms, but one apricot was already in bloom). We enjoyed
the Rhododendron collection from all over the world, and the subtropical Vireya
Garden (Vireyas are a kind of
Rhododendron, from the mountains and jungles of Philippines, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and New Guinea). The Palmetum is a wonderful collection of unique palm
trees, ferns, and cycads. The succulent collection near the Easterbrook
Fountain has many fine examples of succulents, and cacti. There is a Bay
Friendly garden, a community garden for children, an Edible garden, a
Pollinator garden, and a Sensory garden, all worthy of more exploration.
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| Palmetum |
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| Japanese Garden |
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| Golden State Bonsai Collection |
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| Vireya Garden |
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The gardens are being restored, and always in need of
volunteers. The Lake Merritt Pruning Club, among other groups, helps with the trees.
The day we visited, a team of volunteers was adding organic matter to the beds
near the Easterbrook Fountain. This is a great local treasure to visit, or help
tend! I’m looking forward to returning in the spring when blossoms emerge, and
in the fall to see the leaves turn color. Learn more: http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/
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