Garden Glory

By Joan Tapper

A NEW, 288-PAGE, PHOTO-RICH VOLUME REVEALS THE BOTANICAL WONDERS OF LOTUSLAND.  

In 1941, when Madame Ganna Walska, a much-married Polish-born opera singer, bought a 37-acre estate in Montecito, she envisioned it as a sanctuary for Tibetan monks. That never came to pass. Instead, for the rest of her life she used her artistic imagination, her dramatic flair, and her considerable wealth to transform the place into Lotusland—a world-renowned horticultural showpiece, home to some 3,400 types of plants, including rare and endangered species.

Since 1993, visitors have been able to follow the garden’s winding paths from startlingly massed cacti to serene corners of the Japanese garden, and from the placid lotus pond to a whimsical collection of topiary. Now, thanks to Lotusland (Rizzoli, 2022), with photography by Lisa Romerein and an introduction by Marc Appleton, we can all savor this living treasure, from its brilliant conception to its exquisite details.

After several years of renovation, the Japanese Garden (top) reopened in 2019 with a scenic overlook and more accessible paths, among other improvements. The reflecting pond teems with koi, while a Japanese black pine focuses interest on the little island. One of 30 stone lanterns flanks the graceful walkway. A new coffeetable book (above) recounts the garden’s history. The Bromeliad Gardens (right) showcase more than 320 kinds of the versatile plants, which grow throughout the New World in habitats that range from deserts to rainforests. In a photo from 1957 (far right) Madame Ganna Walska surveys part of her cactus and Euphorbia collection. Her innovative and signature designs for Lotusland included massing specimens in unexpected ways.

The arched branches of the octopus cactus (right), which can reach 30 feet long, add an otherworldly touch to the Dunlap Cactus Garden, a private collection that was added to Lotusland in 2003.

Bright with color at the height of summer, the water garden (above) includes free-form water lily ponds. Before Ganna Walska bought the estate, this was a swimming pool, and the pink building at the back was a bath house. Signs of the zodiac punctuate a floral clock (right) that features compact succulents. Topiary animals form a smile-inducing backdrop.