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Lotusland
A beautifully crafted volume on the world-renowned gardens of Lotusland—the first such book in more than two decades and the first ever magnificent tribute to this international treasure.
Variously labeled Eden, one of the 100 gardens you must visit before your die, and among the 10 best botanical gardens in the world, Madame Ganna Walska’s Lotusland is magic mixed with paradise in the hills of Montecito, California. Walska, a well-known Polish opera singer and socialite, purchased the estate in 1941 and spent 43 years creating Lotusland. The collections of exotic plants on the 37-acre property are an expression of her penchant for the dramatic, the unexpected, and the whimsical. Home to more than 3,400 types of plants, including at least 35,000 specimens, it is recognized not just for the diversity of its collections, but for the extraordinary design sensibility informing the many one-of-a-kind individual gardens that comprise the whole. As pleasing as its aesthetic and sensorial qualities are, Lotusland is also an important center for scientific research and conservation. A leader in the field of sustainable practices, it is the first botanical garden in the United States to become entirely organic.
Variously labeled Eden, one of the 100 gardens you must visit before your die, and among the 10 best botanical gardens in the world, Madame Ganna Walska’s Lotusland is magic mixed with paradise in the hills of Montecito, California. Walska, a well-known Polish opera singer and socialite, purchased the estate in 1941 and spent 43 years creating Lotusland. The collections of exotic plants on the 37-acre property are an expression of her penchant for the dramatic, the unexpected, and the whimsical. Home to more than 3,400 types of plants, including at least 35,000 specimens, it is recognized not just for the diversity of its collections, but for the extraordinary design sensibility informing the many one-of-a-kind individual gardens that comprise the whole. As pleasing as its aesthetic and sensorial qualities are, Lotusland is also an important center for scientific research and conservation. A leader in the field of sustainable practices, it is the first botanical garden in the United States to become entirely organic.
- GenresGardening
288 pages, Hardcover
Published March 15, 2022
34 people want to read
About the author
Marc Appleton
15 booksMarc Appleton is the founding Principal of Appleton Partners LLP – Architects, with offices in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, California. He earned a B.A. in English from Harvard College and a Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. His work has received numerous awards from the American Institute of Architects and other organizations. Appleton is the author or contributor to several books, including California Mediterranean and Ranches: Home on the Range in California. A native of California and Arizona, he helped found the Appleton-Whittel Research Ranch Foundation and the Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art.
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February 10, 2023
"Living on this planet is not a reality but merely a passing moment in time and space allotted us for growth."
Ganna Walska Lotusland, a 37 acre oasis located in California, is considered to be among the most significant botanic gardens in the world. The garden is a partner in many national and international organizes charged with conserving numerous species of plants from around the world that are threatened by extinction. Indeed, many of the plants cared for at Lotusland are threatened and are restricted from wild collection and international trade.
Throughout the year, in every season, something is always in bloom at Lotusland. For visitors who tour the gardens from mid-June through early September, the display of hundreds of strawberry-pink Asian lotus blossoms erupting in the Water Garden is truly a breathtaking sight to behold. Lotuses are the gems of the aquatic world, and the estate's namesake plant never fails to awe in its brilliant display.
Mysterious, exotic and celebrated for their beauty, the lotus is among the oldest flowering plants in existence. As such, they possess a rich history of deep social and spiritual significance in both the ancient and modern worlds. In ancient Greece, the lotus flower represented innocence, purity and modesty. In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is considered the most sacred flower, and is a symbol of life, renewal and transcendence. Like most culturally meaningful plants and animals, this symbolism is rooted in actual elements of its biology. The lotus starts as a seed in the mud. It grows many rhizomes before emerging into the air and blooming, revealing a beautiful flower unmarred by the muddy waters from which it arose, and in which it is still rooted. The mud is said to symbolize the basis of life - the physical world - while the flower represents spiritual enlightenment. Its life cycle, growing out of murky waters into the air, symbolizes transcendence.
Ganna Walska Lotusland, a 37 acre oasis located in California, is considered to be among the most significant botanic gardens in the world. The garden is a partner in many national and international organizes charged with conserving numerous species of plants from around the world that are threatened by extinction. Indeed, many of the plants cared for at Lotusland are threatened and are restricted from wild collection and international trade.
Throughout the year, in every season, something is always in bloom at Lotusland. For visitors who tour the gardens from mid-June through early September, the display of hundreds of strawberry-pink Asian lotus blossoms erupting in the Water Garden is truly a breathtaking sight to behold. Lotuses are the gems of the aquatic world, and the estate's namesake plant never fails to awe in its brilliant display.
Mysterious, exotic and celebrated for their beauty, the lotus is among the oldest flowering plants in existence. As such, they possess a rich history of deep social and spiritual significance in both the ancient and modern worlds. In ancient Greece, the lotus flower represented innocence, purity and modesty. In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is considered the most sacred flower, and is a symbol of life, renewal and transcendence. Like most culturally meaningful plants and animals, this symbolism is rooted in actual elements of its biology. The lotus starts as a seed in the mud. It grows many rhizomes before emerging into the air and blooming, revealing a beautiful flower unmarred by the muddy waters from which it arose, and in which it is still rooted. The mud is said to symbolize the basis of life - the physical world - while the flower represents spiritual enlightenment. Its life cycle, growing out of murky waters into the air, symbolizes transcendence.
Displaying 1 of 1 review