OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Find your Zen in one of these Southern California Gardens

By Melissa Curtin

WILDFIRES, THE PANDEMIC LINGERING, NONSTOP TRAFFIC…THE OVERALL STATE OF THE WORLD CAN FEEL ANXIETY PRODUCING. TAKE BACK YOUR MENTAL SANITY BY UNPLUGGING AND SPENDING TIME ENJOYING THE BENEFITS OF ONE OF THESE HEALING GARDEN REFUGES. BREATHE IN THE SURROUNDINGS AND EXHALE OUT BLISSFUL SENTIMENTS FOR YOUR OVERALL HEALTH AND PEACE OF MIND.

WWW.LOTUSLAND.ORG (3)

LOTUSLAND

IN MONTECITO

This 37-acre botanical paradise in Montecito boasts 25 different gardens with rare cycads, cacti, palms, and euphorbias. Waltz around this horticulture nirvana through a Japanese garden, a rose garden, an insectary garden, and a shade palm garden where you can immerse yourself in bromeliads, succulents, and silvery blue-grey foliage. Tropical exotic blooms overhead, brightly colored seed explosions down below, pools with massive clam shells as water features, oddlooking worn statues from France, and symmetrical carved leaves are all part of the fantastical plot of land. Madame Ganna Walska and her sixth husband purchased the estate in 1941. She spent 43 years cultivating the plant utopia until her death at age 97. Book in advance for two hours of exploration. H

SUNNYLANDS

IN RANCHO MIRAGE

The former Annenberg estate welcomed presidents and royalty since the 1960’s thanks to publisher billionaire magnate Walter Annenberg, who created TV Guide, Seventeen Magazine, and one of the first TV stations out of Philadelphia. Most notable is the introductory 35-minute film showcasing the numerous presidents and celebs who brought the estate to life. Walk the wildflower field or Great Lawn gardens and marvel at the history of this former meeting place where often over golf or dinner, major ideas were exchanged, and international relations and laws were sorted out and discussed. Admire more than 70 species of arid adapted plants amongst twin reflecting pools filled with river stones and contemplate life on the Obama bench or while winding through a labyrinth. Yoga, bird walks, and private tours of the home have resumed.

MOORTEN BOTANICAL GARDEN

IN PALM SPRINGS

The world’s first “Cactarium” is still thriving thanks to 78year-old Mr. Moorten who oversees this special place which was created by his parents in 1938. Along the nature trail, visitors can slowly wander the rustic one-acre to fully absorb the arid biomes of desert trees and cacti categorized by geography, such as Baja California, the South African-Succulent Karoo, and Mojave Desert region.

Extraordinary desert varieties can be found in the greenhouse - from miniature to giant in every form, each crawling snake-like up the rafters. Odd cacti in funny shapes and sizes grow with their own unique personalities. Moorten’s Mediterranean home, called the Cactus Castle, sits in the Palm Grove Oasis and throughout the short traipse you’ll discover gold mining relics, an old adobe wall, massive crystals, fossils, and several desert tortoises amongst the flora. Also on display are massive agave, ocotillo, bombax, and South African aloe plants. Before exiting, stop by the nursery to purchase desert treasures to take home. There is a $5 entrance fee.

CONEJO VALLEY BOTANIC GARDEN

IN THOUSAND OAKS

Established in 1973 when volunteers leased a 33-acre parcel to establish a public botanic garden, this special property offers visitors a free place to enjoy collections of native plants, oak trees, and indigenous wildlife. Fifteen hillside botanical gardens include an Australian Garden, Herb Garden, Desert Garden, Kids’ Adventure Garden, Mediterranean Garden, and a rare fruit orchard. In the Butterfly Garden several benches allow proper rest as bees and butterflies flit around. In springtime guests can witness a grand display of white paper-like Matilija poppies and psychedelic Purple Passion flowers. A nature trail less than one-milelong winds you around a meadow, labeled gardens, alongside a creek and through a variety of 72 trees. Coming here feels therapeutic to the soul. H

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THE SRF LAKE SHRINE IN PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA DRAWS THOUSANDS EACH YEAR TO THE 10ACRE SITE THAT INCLUDES MEDITATION GAR DENS, WATERFALLS, A HILLTOP TEMPLE WITH WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL SERVICES, AND A RETREAT FOR SILENT RENEWAL. ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME AND EXPERIENCE INNER AND OUTER PEACE, AND TO DIS COVER THE YOGA MEDITATION TEACHINGS OF PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA. FOR MORE INFO: WWW.LAKESHRINE.ORG

MELISSA CURTIN (2)

GARDENS OF THE WORLD

t A BEACON TO TOLERANCE AND HARMONY, THE SELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP LAKE SHRINE WAS “CREATED FOR ALL RELIGIONS,” SAID PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA DUR ING THE 1950 DEDICATION CEREMONY, “THAT ALL MAY FEEL THE UNITY OF A COMMON FAITH.” THE GOLDEN LOTUS ARCHWAY, A “WALLLESS” TEMPLE AT THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LAKE, EMBODIES THE SPIRITUAL ESSENCE OF THIS IDEAL, HOUSING THE FIRST MEMORIAL IN THE WORLD ERECTED IN MAHATMA GANDHI’S HONOR, WHERE A PORTION OF THE MAHATMA’S ASHES ARE ENSHRINED.

SELFREALIZATION FELLOWSHIP LAKE SHRINE

IN PACIFIC PALISADES

Meditate or breathe deeply in the gardens atop the ocean with shrines and waterfalls and a hilltop Temple with weekly inspirational services. As you meander around the lake pathways by a small historic windmill, feel the cliffside breezes. Weekend retreats include meditating in silence in this dreamy setting just off Pacific Coast Highway. Founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, he envisioned a spiritual environment where people from all over the world could come experience peace of heart and mind and to discover Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga) through his teachings. Open free of charge, Wednesday through Sunday, and reservations are required. One arrival time is offered on Sunday for morning temple services.

IN THOUSAND OAKS

To celebrate the cultures of the world, one couple decided to build this striking monument with various types of gardens. Set on 4.5 acres, there are five different gardens representing England, France, Italy, Japan, and the unique California Mission Courtyard. Leave your stresses behind as you wander around the Koi Pond encircled by bamboo and bridges. Inhale the scent of roses with more than 400 bushes in the English Rose Garden. The French Garden will put a smile on your face with its symmetrical beauty, water features, and perfectly clipped parterres along with mazes of structured boxwood hedges. The French Fountain is a replica of the one found at the Gardens of Versailles. Continue your stroll along the chain fountain inspired by Italian historic architecture. v

SURF AND RESCUE:

GEORGE FREETH AND THE WATERWOMAN TRADITION IN CALIFORNIA BEACH CULTURE

BY PATRICK MOSER

GEORGE FREETH ( 1883-1919 ) CREATED THE FOUNDATION OF CALIFORNIA BEACH CULTURE BY PIONEERING ITS TWO MAJOR ACTIVI TIES: SURFING AND LIFEGUARDING. HIS NATIVE HAWAIIAN HERITAGE AND UPBRINGING MADE HIM MORE PRO GRESSIVE THAN MOST IN THE PROGRESSIVE ERA.

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GEORGE FREETH SPORTING A PERIOD BATHING SUIT THAT HIGHLIGHTS ONE OF HIS MAJOR CONTRIBU TIONS TO THE DEVEL OPMENT OF BEACH CULTURE IN EARLY TWENTIETHCENTURY CALIFORNIA: TEACH ING SWIMMING AT BATHHOUSES FROM LOS ANGELES TO SAN DIEGO. COURTESY LOS ANGELES COUNTY LIFEGUARD TRUST FUND, WITT FAMILY COLLECTION.

AT A TIME WHEN WOMEN WERE NOT ENCOURAGED TO COMPETE SERIOUSLY IN SPORTING EVENTS, GEORGE FREETH TAUGHT THEM HOW TO SWIM, ROW, DIVE, AND SURF. He entered them in state and regional tournaments even though their accomplishments were not officially recognized because the Amateur Athletic Union didn’t sanction women’s events until 1914. Freeth’s sense of beach culture always included women. He trained them hard and promoted their achievements. Although Freeth taught writer Jack London how to surf at Waikīkī in the summer of 1907, his work with women in many ways represents a counter-narrative to London’s hypermasculine stories of mastery and dominance in the surf. With some exceptions, Freeth’s egalitarian sense of wave riding — traditionally practiced by both sexes in Hawaii — was not the path that California surfers chose to follow in the decades after Freeth’s death. But it could have been.

Freeth started coaching women soon after arriving in Venice in 1907. On Labor Day,

t FREETH’S INSTRUC TION OF SURFING TO CHILDREN TAUGHT THEM TO UNDERSTAND OCEAN WAVES AND CURRENTS, A FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE CRU CIAL TO THE DEVEL OPMENT OF CALIFORNIA BEACH CULTURE. AT REDONDO BEACH, CIRCA 1910. COURTESY LOS ANGELES COUNTY LIFEGUARD TRUST FUND, WITT FAMILY COLLECTION.

1908, two young swimmers known as the “Seaweed Sisters” — Dorothy Newkirk and Avis Gordon — competed with Freeth in a three-and-a-half-mile swim between the Santa Monica Pier and the Venice breakwater. Newkirk and Gordon had become notable not only for their swimming exploits but because they wore men’s bathing suits, which helped lower their racing times. Freeth won the competition that day in one hour and 13 minutes. Despite a heavy swell and cross currents, both women finished strongly: Newkirk in an hour and thirtyseven minutes, and Gordon in an hour and forty-one minutes (both were given a ten-minute handicap). The event highlights Freeth’s great effectiveness as a coach. He typically competed alongside his students, encouraging them to challenge both him and them. He followed the same strategy with all his protégés, whether it was Olympic goldmedalist Duke Kahanamoku or local high-school sensation Dorothy Newkirk. It would not be surprising at all if Freeth had encouraged the women to don male suits, both to improve their times and to increase their safety since women’s suits of this era were more akin to dresses in their length and weight.

Abbie Victoria “Dolly” Mings was Freeth’s first female star in Redondo Beach. At 17 she came in third place in the mile at the Pacific Coast Swimming Championships in September 1911. Once Freeth arrived back from Hawai‘i in November 1911 and started working with her, she quickly vaulted to prominence in the shorter distances. She won the 50-yard freestyle at a tournament that included the men’s Olympic tryouts in March 1912. Had American women been able to compete in the Olympics (this didn’t happen until 1920), she certainly could have earned a spot. In August 1912 Freeth inaugurated the open-ocean swimming championship in nearby Ocean Park. Mings won her race wearing a men’s bathing suit. She completed her season in September by winning the 100yard freestyle in the Southern California Swimming Championships.

Although Dolly Mings married in January 1913, she continued to train with Freeth. Her routine began with a two-mile run every morning up the beach. Freeth’s method of cross-training for his young swimmers - running, diving, and surfing - built their strength and endurance,

“ALTHOUGH HE PASSED AWAY IN THE PRIME OF HIS LIFE DURING THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC OF 1918-1919 (HE WAS THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OLD), HIS LEGACY OF CREATING A WATERWOMAN TRADITION AS PART OF CALIFORNIA BEACH CULTURE LIVED ON THROUGH HIS STUDENTS.”

which gave them an edge in competition. Dolly Mings defended her title in July 1913 as the fastest woman swimmer on the Pacific Coast by setting a record in the 50-yard freestyle. Because women’s events were not yet officially sanctioned by the AAU — New York President James Edward Sullivan thought women had “little or no place in athletics” — Mings swam her events before and after the men’s competition.

Freeth continued to coach women to swim and surf from Los Angeles to San Diego. Although he passed away in the prime of his life during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 (he was thirty-five years old), his legacy of creating a waterwoman tradition as part of California beach culture lived on through his students. Lyba and Nita Sheffield, who had trained under Freeth in Venice, later organized the Girls’ Life-Saving Corps when they became students at the University of California at Berkeley. They wrote a textbook in 1920 — Swimming Simplified — that included several chapters on rescue techniques and included a picture of Freeth on a threewheeled motorcycle that he had developed for lifeguarding. v