The bonsai garden at Lake Merritt is one of only three publicly available bonsai Gardens for the public to experience the spectacular trees in California. The other two gardens are the friendship garden in Fresno and the bonsai garden, which is part of the Huntington library collection in Pasadena.

The garden is primarily run by volunteers, and most of the trees which are excellent specimens have been donated. Many of these trees are of show quality and have taken many decades to develop.

Because most bonsai trees belong to private collections. This is a rare opportunity to see world-class bonsai in a beautiful setting at a very reasonable price.

The garden is usually run by volunteers and a handful of full-time staff. The Bay Area has a thriving bonsai community with many local bonsai clubs. The three public bonsai Gardens in California are under the umbrella of the Golden State bonsai Federation, which overseas most of the bonsai gardens and clubs in the state.

The quality of trees available to be viewed at the lake Merritt bonsai Garden are exceptional and without attending a competition or bonsai show it’s very difficult to get access to this quality of bonsai trees.

I encourage anybody interested in bonsai to visit the garden. If you have questions, the volunteers are usually happy to tell you about bonsai culture, history, and their own bonsai experience.

Anybody interested in learning about bonsai should contact their local bonsai club. All California bonsai clubs should be listed on the website of the Golden State bonsai Federation.

The Bay Area bonsai community is enthusiastic and friendly. Almost everyone is willing to help teach and we often work together during club workshops, and events.

Encourage everyone to come visit this magical treasure the Bay Area has to offer.