Blake Garden UC Berkeley

Kensington, California, United States

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Blake Garden in Kensington, California, was created in the early 1920s when UC Berkeley alumni Anson and Anita Blake, along with Anita's sister Mabel Symmes who was among the first students in UC Berkeley’s new landscape architecture program, transformed a rugged hillside property into extensive gardens around their homes.

Originally about 22 acres, the garden incorporated varied terrain and microclimates, with different sections designed to showcase diverse plantings including laurel, coast redwood, and canary island pine, arranged organically through walking paths.

The site had been acquired by the Blakes after they needed to move due to the university's construction of Memorial Stadium. In 1957, the Blakes donated the garden and house to UC Berkeley, which has used it ever since as a living laboratory for landscape architecture and environmental planning students to study plant identification, garden design, and spatial relationships.

The garden remains a vital teaching resource with nearly 1,500 plant species and includes structures designed by prominent architects, continuing the Blake family's legacy in horticulture and education.