by Joe Byrd, Chairman
Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt

Visitors often ask how we succeed as an all-volunteer non-profit museum. My answer is “through the kindness of our friends.” Let me give you three examples out of the many that support us on an annual basis – one from an individual, one from a single club, and another from an event put on by four clubs to support the Garden.

Don White, a long-time member of the Watsonville Club seen here in the back row wearing a hat, recently contacted me to say he needed to sell some of his prize bonsai as he can no longer care for them. Many of the senior members of the bonsai community face a similar situation, but few have Don’s foresight. He asked for our help to sell some of his collection at our Mammoth Auction & Sale on February 27 & 28, 2016. We picked up over 60 bonsai from Don’s home in Watsonville and will have them available as part of California’s biggest Auction & Sale at the Lake Merritt Garden Center. This event, thanks to the support of folks like Don, is our biggest annual fundraising event that helps provide the money we need to keep the Garden open and thriving throughout the year. For more information on the Mammoth Auction & Sale visit us at https://bonsailakemerritt.com/?page_id=1350.

Last month I received an email from the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS) president Bob Shimon. REBS had raised a substantial sum through their club show, one of the biggest in California and they decided to send some of the funds to the Garden. They are long-time supporters of our Adopt-a-Tree program and of our Curator Fund. Donations from clubs like REBS are always welcome and help us maintain the quality of care we provide for the bonsai in our Collection.

I recently attended the Capital City Bonsai Association (CCBA) annual show and heard quite an interesting story from Gary Judd, president. It seems that Gary was returning home to Sacramento from one of the Bonsai Garden formation committee meetings and got to thinking of how to support the bonsai garden that was being built. He realized that if the Garden was going to be successful and sustainable, the bonsai clubs would need to raise funds to support it. That is when he got the idea to form a group up of the four clubs in Sacramento area and stage an annual show that would provide funds to support the Garden. CCBA is comprised of four Sacramento-based bonsai clubs: American Bonsai Association, Sacramento, Bonsai Sekiyu Kai, Sacramento Bonsai Club, and Satsuki Aikokai of Sacramento. In addition, to this tremendous support of thousands of dollars donated to the Garden since we opened, Gary and his family have recently donated funds to establish an new display area for accent plants at the Garden in honor of the matriarch of their very active bonsai family, Chizuko “Mary” Sakaishi. Mary, known as the “Accent Plant Queen,” taught and shared her accent plantings and knowledge with the bonsai world. More bonsai people have become enthusiastic about accents because of Mary.

These are just some of the sources of funds that are donated each year to support the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt from both individuals and clubs alike. We are also receiving donations from businesses as well. When we achieve museum status, we believe that the business and foundation contributions will soon follow. The Garden is a very important part of the bonsai community as well as the community at large. In October, we again participated in the Autumn Lights Festival (click here to see photos of the Garden), hosted by the Friends of Garden at Lake Merritt (FGLM). This year we counted over 10,100 visitors during the two-night event. Many of the people had visited the Garden previously, but many more just discovered us during this festival. Most of these we spoke to promised to come back to view the bonsai in the daylight. We even raised a few hundred dollars by selling items from our new Museum Shop.

During this holiday season, many of you are thinking of donating to causes you believe in. Please consider donating to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt and help us preserve our legacy trees for future generations. For those interested in learning more about donating to the GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt and the work we do, please visit our website at https://bonsailakemerritt.com/. If you have questions or donations  you wish to make, please email us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.