The Gardens at Lake Merritt — Attraction in Oakland

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...

One of the great thing about living in Oakland is Lake Merritt.

The gardens are a jewel and a wonderful place to take a break, read, write and just enjoy the beauty that an Asian garden can be.

A short walk away is the lake, the bbq, the boat houses, the band stand, the bird sanctuary and a lot of open grass, play structure, and other things like the lawn bowling, amphitheater and Children's Fairyland all kind of blend into one another.

And the place has life. This is a great place to jog, bike or just sit amd people watch as well as picnic and grill. And people are put and about. Walk the perimeter and you'll see all kinds of people enjoying the gardens, lake and park.

The only downside is that there are not enough food vendors, bathrooms etc and the city has allowed too much of it to be...

Why is one of the best spots in Oakland? -Community Gardens where you can grow your own salads, and experiment with plants, compost, soils and irrigation systems. -Master Gardeners ready and happy to help you and share their knowledge. Active program of seminars for gardening. -Aroma Garden is an exuberant pleasure for your senses. -Pollinators and Monarch butterflies favorite spot. -Bonsai Garden where time and people build temples of Nature. -Birds singing and flying everywhere. -Beautiful place to walk, meditate, relax or eat your food in your lunch break. With enough benches well distributed...