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Indeed, in the early years there was a steady
backlog of eager visitors that kept the tour schedule
constantly booked.
But the Conditional Use Permit granted by the
County of Santa Barbara then limited public visits to
5,000 per year. That number gradually increased until
Lotusland reached its present maximum limit of 15,000
visitors annually. So even though one still has to call
ahead for a reservation, there is great likelihood that a
guided tour can be booked to suit the visitor’s schedule.
And for those who maintain a membership, there are
New Era Of Wider Interpretation
For starters, an Executive Director who recently celebrated her first
anniversary at the helm.
Gwen Stauffer
left her position as Executive
Director of the New England Wild Flower Society to accept her new
appointment as head of Lotusland, a cross-country move echoing that
made by Ganna Walska herself. In 1940, Madame, as she preferred to be
called, traveled west. First from France to New York to escape World War
II, then the following year to Santa Barbara, at the bidding of her soon-to-
be sixth husband Theos Bernard, who found the property and convinced
Walska to purchase it and dub it “Tibetland.” But westward fortunes are
not all that Stauffer has in common with Ganna Walska, as she exhibits a
forceful enthusiasm for endless possibilities at Lotusland – a quality that
Madame surely would have appreciated.
any number of opportunities to tour the gardens, both with a guide and
on one’s own.
It is those people who have already visited Lotusland, and therefore
think they have “seen it,” that present the biggest challenge. Unlike an art
museum that regularly changes its exhibitions to bring in repeat visitors,
a garden, with its stationary inventory of plants, must rely on more
subtle allures. Yes, the exotic lotus flowers bloom every summer at their
namesake estate, filling the ponds with fleeting beauty. But in fact there is
more – much more.
50
winter
|
spr ing
The driveway close to the main house at Lotusland is flanked by large masses of
golden barrel cacti (
Echinocactus grusonii
) and the weeping form of
Euphorbia
ingens
, the writhing arms of which never fail to enthrall visitors
The Aloe Garden pond dates from the Gavit era; Ganna Walska
lent her own touch by adding the border of iridescent abalone
shells, and fountains created from giant South Pacific clams
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