I guess I'm spoiled. Here in SoCal you can go to the Huntington Gardens, which are 150 acres of Chinese and Japanese gardens, with rose gardens, herb gardens, desert gardens, an extensive conservatory with a rain forest, bog, etc. Plus they have an extensive bonsai and suiseki collection donated by numerous big names. It normally costs $25 a head, but you can stay all day, visit the library, see several art museums, etc. If you are a member of a bonsai club, you can go up for the Bonsai-a-thon, and entrance that day is free, plus they give you free behind-the-scenes tours.
It just surprised me... and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I would much rather have had them say "we don't take visitors" than "we take visitors... for $150". I'd rather just buy a nice pot