I want to express my gratitude to the dozens of community volunteers who work trying to replace the efforts of the 16 professional gardeners which we as a city used to hire to maintain these gorgeous Gardens located here at Lake Merritt. What professional nail supervises the bunch of us, and hundreds of visitors and residents make use of the huge space which provides lots of corners individual meditation, or family picnics, or just communing and exploring.

Bonsai Garden, Japanese Grotto, sensory garden, turtle pond, Dahlia garden, rose garden, Palm Garden with more varieties of Palms from all over the world than I knew were in existence! And there are spaces for toddlers and grandparents, little plots that families and individuals can claim for a season or two to grow some vegetables, they are gorgeous redwoods and many of the 400 varieties of trees which are located around the lake entire, this doesn't take into account the area dedicated to tips on composting, or the bee Hotel, or a rotating bunch of sculptures which seem to appear from time to time. So much to explore, that one's own pace.

Unfortunately it has to close at 4 p.m. which is probably a result of lack of funding like the lack of gardeners. But this is a jewel in our city which deserves all the support we can give it. Don't miss it! Something for everybody.