Lotusland

Ganna Walska Lotusland is a series of gardens, each with surprises that beckon visitors through a labyrinth of landscape adventures. Formidable century plants and stately Chilean Wine Palms almost obscure the faded pink stucco columns and beautifully crafted wrought-iron gates that guard the entrance to the 37-acre garden property.

The classic features of Lotusland include a charming outdoor theatre, a topiary garden, horticultural clock, Neptune fountain, formal parteere and hedged allees. Botanical collections of aloes, bromeliads, cacti and other succulents, cycads, ferns, and palms offer visitors the opportunity to see one of America's most unusual gardens.

In the late 1800s, pioneer nurseryman R. Kinton Stevens, was one of the first Americans to grow the sacred Indian lotus. He introduced the exotic plant to Lotusland, then called Tanglewood, in the early 1890s.

Mr. and Mrs. E. Palmer Gavit commissioned Peter Riedel to design the original gardens. The main residence, designed by Reginald Johnson in 1919, was remodeled by the celebrated Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith, who also designed the swimming pool, bathhouse, and landmark pink perimeter wall. The estate became a favorite destination on local tours of private gardens.

In 1941, the well-known Polish opera singer Mme. Ganna Walska purchased the estate and renamed it Lotusland. For Mme. Walska, Lotusland became a spiritual refuge, a place where she could set aside the concerns of the ordinary world. She experimented with bold forms and unusual color combinations and contrasted serene, traditional vistas with daring theatrical displays. She lived there until her death in 1984.

As she modified Lotusland, Mme. Walska consulted two of the area's finest landscape architects, Lockwood de Forest and Ralph T. Stevens (the son of R. Kinton Stevens), to help her implement her design ideas. Later she worked with expert horticulturists Charles Glass and Robert Foster to renovate the aloe garden and cactus and succulent plantings. She also created a new cycad garden. Because Mme. Walska insisted on superior design and had an enthusiasm for rare specimens, she endowed Santa Barbara with an unrivaled botanical treasure.

Lotusland became a private, nonprofit educational institution in 1984. The trustees of the Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation, with the help of a professional staff assisted by trained volunteers, now operate the extensive estate.

One-and-a-half to two-hour walking tours of the gardens are guided, and advance reservations are required. Please call 805-969-9990 for information, reservations, and admission fees, or write to: Tour Reservations, Ganna Walska Lotusland, 695 Ashley Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.