The Traveling Plants: Lotusland, Santa Barbara

Right outside of Santa Barbara in Montecito sits a botanical treasure trove of whimsical delights and perpetual eye candy called Ganna Walska Lotusland. Now before you pack your bags, let it be known you must make reservations prior to showing up and you can only explore the grounds with your tour guide which lasts an approximate 2 hours (unless you are a member and attend other events at the private venue). Be ready to be saturated with information and sights as you wander through all 26 incredibly varying and different gardens.The land was purchased by famous Polish opera singer in 1941 and was a life's work for the next 43 years. The 37 acre botanical Disneyland contains subtropical and tropical plants from around the world including rare cycads, cacti, palms and euphorbia. Described as a delightful labyrinth of landscape adventures- from both a plant nerd standpoint and an artist / designer's standpoint it is a truly wonderful experience.

One of the best lessons and inspiration I took from this visit is the impact of being bold. Of mass plantings, restraint and patterns. It brought me back to importance of design basics and letting the bold simplicity sing. Much like a recipe that calls for only a few ingredients- just the right combination of a few spices prepared in the right way can be an amazing experience- so can be said with plants and design.

The Japanese Garden. Niwake pruning taken to the highest art form.

Water Lily Pond in bloom.

Dramatic (drought tolerant) entrance

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Meyer Lemon Pergola... LOVE!

Neptune fountain with mermen (not mermaids, mind you).

Traditional parterre. Another impressive feat of this garden is its mission to be organic. This is great to see more traditional gardens going this route- looking at soil health, the right plant in the right place, compost teas, attracting beneficials and being okay with a little insect damage here or there.

The Dunlap Cactus Garden. 300 species of cacti, 40% started from seed. Merrit Dunlap longtime friend of Walska, donated garden (a collection he started in 1929) in 1999. The garden opened in 2004 on his birthday and died shortly thereafter.

Working succulent clock with zodiac "numbers". Whimsical topiaries in the background.

Topiary Garden

The Amphitheater Garden. Grotesque stone figurines from 1600s France and a fully functioning stage with podocarpus wings.

The Bromeliad Garden.

The Blue Garden.

Mass plantings of blue fescue and senecio create a carpet in the Blue Garden. Recycled stag glass from the old water delivery factory line the path and blue atlas cedars and palm punctuate the landscape.

Pan in the succulent garden.

Cycad Garden. Some lineage can be traced back 300 MILLION years. Living fossils- many which have to be hand pollinated since the insects that originally pollinated them are extinct! Though may look palm-like they are more like a conifer than a palm.

The Epiphyte Garden

Agaves aloes and succulents frame this dramatic side entrance.

A Gallery of 3 Before + Afters

Springtime is a busy time! New gardens to create, consultations to be had and checking in on my gardens to see how they've grown. Here's a few of them to hopefully help serve as ideas for some of you to conserve on water while getting more use out of your outdoor spaces.

SUNNY SANTA CRUZ FRONT COURTYARD  

BEFORE
Bindweed, overgrown garden space and fieldstones.

Conceptual sketch (which was then drawn into CAD and bid and built upon).                              

DURING

AFTER

We reused their existing fieldstones and created raised drystack sonoma fieldstone beds and flagstone paths and seating areas with integrated edbiles CA natives and friends. I was happy to see the seaside daisy, yarrow, cleveland sage and friends growing so well alongside herbs and edibles planted by clients. A true delight to see them enjoying and using this cheerful space.

MODERN SANTA CRUZ XERISCAPE

BEFORE.

In this Eastside Santa Cruz backyard we swapped out miles of lawn (yes, they got a lawn removal rebate from the city) for gold gravel, succulents and edibles (including a fruit tree espalier, raised vegie beds and a few citrus trees).

AFTER

The custom concrete bench creates a great accent and destination in garden and we had fun designing new geometric poured concrete and poured steps to imitate flagstone.the variegated Pittosporum 'Marjorie Channon' planted against fence perimeter will fill in to create a nice 8' tall screen. These photos were taken just after installation completion and I will be posting photos on my web once plants establish and concrete is sealed.

 LIVE OAK SANTA CRUZ WOODLAND FRONT YARD

BEFORE

Across the street from a native open space area, what was previously ivy, lawn and volunteer trees underwent a major transformation. We brought in soil to create a soft raised berm, built a patio at porch for seating space, introduced boulders, CA native and mediterranean plants that blended well for this woodland inspired garden.

AFTER

Easy Australian fuchsia lines the border with variegated mirror plant, Cedros Island verbena and reed grasses. Toyon line the fence and CA flowering currants, ferns and heuchera occupy the planter areas. For specimen plants we have a native dogwood, a forest pansy redbud and a native vine maple. Instead of repouring the driveway- we used cobble stones to continue the line of the driveway flare.

                                                                                                                                             





Happy Gardening! Keep your eyes peeled on my website for a new Before + After page. I will be posting photos of the above designs on my website within the next year once they become more established. And follow me on Facebook for more current news. Cheers!
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Chihuly in the Desert

I had the pleasure of visiting the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix this month and the icing on the cake was getting to see the Chihuly art exhibit. I have seen Chihuly's glass work in museums, hotels (famous Belagio ceiling) and even his exhibit at the D Young several years ago- but nothing compares to seeing the grandness of the installations in the outdoors. The juxtaposition of the colorful bold glass in the stark desert landscape created a kinetic kind of dance and made me question what was the sculpture and what was plants. Cacti and succulents have a very architectural and sculptural habit and like art, beg to stand alone and be admired for their form. Their sharp thorns (and competition for water) keep them at bay from disturbers- both of the mobile and plant variety. One large piece, a squiggly fiery burning sun made me sweat even more than I already was- reminding me of the dry hot exposed heat I was trekking through- and I gained a stronger admiration for these tough tough plants. Pictures being a thousand words and all, here you go...

 Titled white belugas, these looked like stranded milk bottles washed ashore.

Barrel cactus and yucca blanketed by Palo Verde blossoms

Yellow glass art with lavender in foreground

The wildflower section showed many plants we see here in Santa Cruz and the bay area, including our CA poppy.