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Revision as of 06:22, 25 January 2017 by AnomieBOT (talk | contribs) (Dating maintenance tags: {{Ref improve section}})(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This article is about the botanical garden in California. For the Canadian locations nicknamed "Lotusland", see Vancouver and British Columbia.Lotusland | |
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Lotus plants at Lotusland | |
Location of Lotusland in CaliforniaShow map of CaliforniaLotusland (the United States)Show map of the United States | |
Type | Botanical garden |
Location | Montecito, California |
Coordinates | 34°26′35″N 119°39′25″W / 34.4430°N 119.6570°W / 34.4430; -119.6570 |
Area | 37 acres (15 ha; 0.058 sq mi) |
Ganna Walska Lotusland, also known as Lotusland, is a non-profit botanical garden located in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, United States. The (15 ha / 37 acres) garden is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska. The County of Santa Barbara restricts visitation via a conditional use permit. Lotusland botanic garden is open to the public by advance reservation only, with walking tours 1½ to 2 hours long.
History
Ralph Kinton Stevens purchased the land in 1882 and was the first to make a permanent imprint on the property. He and his wife, Caroline Lucy Tallant, named the property "Tanglewood." They established a lemon and palm nursery and eventually added other tropical plants to the collection and were among the early plantsmen of Santa Barbara.
In 1916 The estate was sold to the Gavit family, from Albany, New York, and called Cuesta Linda. They had landscape elements, garden structures, and the main residence designed in 1919 by architect Reginald Johnson in the Mediterranean Revival Style. The Gavit family commissioned architect George Washington Smith from 1921-1927 for additional landcape buildings and residence alterations in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. His work included the water garden pool house and the form and pink color of the estate's distinctive walls.
The gardens were created over four decades by Madame Ganna Walska (1887-1984), an opera singer, who owned the property as a private residence from 1941 until her death in 1984. Assisting Madame over the years in landscape planning and garden design were: Peter Riedel, Ralph Stevens, Lockwood DeForest, and Joseph Knowles. The garden was opened to the public in 1993.
The Gardens
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Madame Ganna Walska's Lotusland estate gardens contain several distinct gardens, including:
The Blue Garden
Featuring plants with silvery to blue-gray foliage, including Blue Atlas Cedar (Cedrus libani var. atlantica 'Glauca'), Chilean wine palms (Jubaea chilensis), blue fescue (Festuca ovina var. glauca), Senecio mandraliscae, Mexican blue palm (Brahea armata), Queensland kauri (Agathis robusta), bunya-bunya (Araucaria bidwillii), hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) and two camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora).
Bromeliads gardens
Here bromeliads cover the ground between large coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia). Other notable plants include a branched pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelinii), Trithrinax brasiliensis palms and giant ponytail palms (Beaucarnea recurvata).
The Butterfly gardens
Featuring varieties of flowering plants that support butterflies and other insects.
The Cactus Garden
Featuring a collection of columnar cacti begun in 1929 by Merritt Dunlap. Over 500 plants, representing about 300 different species of cacti in geographically organized groups. Notable specimens include species of Opuntia from the Galapagos Islands, Armatocereus from Peru and a complete collection of the genus Weberbauerocereus. Accent plants include Fouquieria columnaris (boojum tree), dry-growing bromeliads and several Agave species. The garden was designed by Eric Nagelmann and opened in 2004. A recent addition in 2014 completed Nagelmann's design.
The Cacti and euphorbias gardens
A collection of cacti and euphorbias, including a mass of golden barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) and large, weeping Euphorbia ingens.
The Cycad Garden
Lotusland has over 900 specimens of cycads, with nine of the eleven living genera and more than half of the known species represented. Three Encephalartos woodii, among the world’s rarest cycads and extinct in the wild, are in the Lotusland cycad collection.
The Fern gardens
Featuring many types of ferns, such as Australian Tree Ferns (Sphaeropteris cooperi) and giant staghorn ferns (Platycerium). Other shade-loving plants such as angel trumpet tree (Brugmansia), calla lily (Zantedeschia), clivia hybrids and a collection of Hawaiian Pritchardia palms are present.
The Japanese Garden
A small Shinto shrine surrounded by Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens cv. 'Santa Cruz'), a wisteria arbor, Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum), camellias, azaleas and several species of pine pruned in the Niwaki style.
Orchards collections
- Citrus orchard (oranges, lemons, limes, kumquat, grapefruit, and guava)
- Deciduous orchard, with 100 fruit trees (including peach, plum, apple, pear, persimmon and fig) and olive trees from the 1880s.
The Parterre Garden
Formal planting beds and brick walkways with two central water features. Plantings include hedges, floribunda roses, and day lilies.
The Succulent gardens
A variety of succulents including Madagascar Palm (Pachypodium lamerei), Aeonium, Fouquieria, Kalanchoe, Echeveria, Haworthia, Yucca and Sansevieria.
The Topiary Garden
Featuring a horticultural clock 25 feet (8 m) in diameter, bordered by Senecio mandraliscae; a boxwood maze; and a "zoo" of 26 topiary animals, including a camel, gorilla, giraffe and seal. Other frames are shaped as chess pieces and geometric shapes. Lotusland received an anonymous $1 million gift to endow the topiary garden in 2014.
The Tropical gardens
Featuring orchid cacti (Epiphyllum), gingers (both Alpinia and Hedychium) and bananas both ornamental (Ensete) and edible (Musa).
The Water Garden
Includes several species and cultivars of Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and water lily (Nymphaea, Euryale, Nuphar, Victoria) and also bog gardens featuring taro (Colocasia esculenta), ornamental sugar cane (Saccharum cv.) and papyrus.
See also
References
- ^ Rosemary McClure (May 2, 2015). "Lotusland in Montecito has beautiful and tranquil grounds". Los Angeles Times.
- Pioneer Profiles and Biographies. "Ralph Stevens (1882 - 1958)" The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Washington, D.C. USA
- "The Gardens". Ganna Walska Lotusland. Ganna Walska Lotusland. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- Hayes, Virginia and Timbrook, Steven. Lotusland Collections and Horticulture. Companion Press, 2007, p.11
Further reading
- Adams, Brian (2015) . Ganna: Diva of Lotusland. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-5141-6957-5.
External links
Categories:- Botanical gardens in California
- Gardens in California
- History of Santa Barbara County, California
- Landscape design history of the United States
- Parks in Santa Barbara County, California
- Open-air museums in California
- Montecito, California
- Mediterranean Revival architecture in California
- Spanish Revival architecture in California
- Japanese gardens in California