Community Gardens in Northern California

The Bay Area of Northern California is home to several community gardens. Each community garden offers a lot, with many benefits and advantages to joining one. Here is a local guide to community gardens and/or neighborhood gardens in the Bay Area that are sure to open your mind to a whole new world of possibilities.

1. Hakone Gardens. This community garden is located in Saratoga, California, and offers an eighteen acre site nestled in the verdant hills of Saratoga. This garden was constructed in 1918, 3 years after the site was purchased in order to build a summer retreat. The work was done in the sanso, or country villa style that was popular in the late Edo period. By 1995, the Bamboo Park, the Cultural Exchange Center, and the tea plantation had been completed. Visitor fees are $5.00 per individual and $3.50 for seniors and students 5 to 17 years with valid ID. Children four years and under enter for free. Members enjoy free year round entrance as well as a 10% gift shop discount and discounts on Hakone special events. Prices for senior membership is $30, with individual and family membership priced at $40, and $60, respectively. Supporters pay $100, and benefactors pay $250. Patrons are priced at $500, with sponsors paying $1,000, and lifetime donors paying $5,000 and up. In the year 2000, the Hakone Foundation signed an exclusive 55-year lease with the City of Saratoga to carry out this mission of preserving, enhancing, and maintaining Hakone for future generations. Standing atop the rocks and contemplating the pond while clouds pass by is an enhancer for the environment and also, mental health.

2. San Jose Heritage Rose Garden. The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden can be found in Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, located on Spring and Taylor Streets, San Jose, California. This garden is dedicated to delighting visitors with a world class collection of almost 4,000 plants of more than 3,000 varieties of heritage. Features include modern and miniature roses, initially planted by more than 750 volunteers in March, 1995. This is a joint venture of the City of San Jose, the Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, the Santa Clara Rose Society, the South Bay Heritage Rose Group, and many dedicated civic volunteers who continue to propagate, plant, fertilize, prune, weed, catalog, and care for this precious collection of roses. This garden is open seven days a week, from half an hour before dawn to half an hour after dusk. Admission and on-street parking are free. The sweet scent of rose gardens will calm those who feel over-anxious.

3. Chinese Cultural Garden. The Chinese Cultural Garden is a feature of Overfelt Garden Park and was inspired by 1971 by Frank and Pauline Lowe. A partnership with the City of San José transformed six acres of Overfelt Gardens into the Chinese Cultural Garden, all parties believing in the fulfillment of a dream that would advance peace and harmony. The Chinese Cultural Garden has opera performances, and a bevvy of other attractions, including Confucius Statue, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, and the Black Stone. Additional information can be found at the website. Listening to opera at the garden can increase a sense of well-being and natural health.

Sources:

1. http://www.hakone.com/.
2. http://www.heritageroses.us/.
3. http://www.chineseculturalgarden.org/.