Reservations
All visits require a Reservation call 805.969.9990
Tours are 10 AM & 1:30 PM, Wed. through Sat.
Welcome to
Ganna Walska Lotusland
Madame Ganna Walska, a well-known Polish opera singer and socialite, purchased the Montecito, California estate in 1941 and spent the next 43 years creating Lotusland, recognized as one of the ten best gardens in the world. The spectacular collections of exotic plants on the 37-acre property are a personal expression of Walska’s penchant for the dramatic, the unexpected, and the whimsical. Lotusland is home to several extraordinary plant collections and around each corner there is a surprise of unique garden design and plant species. After her death in 1984, Lotusland became a nonprofit botanic garden and opened to the public in 1993. Our educational programs serve the Santa Barbara community and our innovative horticultural practices are shared with botanic gardens and garden-lovers around the world.
THE GARDEN IS SINGING is a film that captures the soul of the garden in the context of the greater global purpose of public botanic gardens – heightening awareness of plant conservation and preservation; demonstrating the success of a functioning eco-system; bringing the visual, emotional and spiritual experience of Lotusland to the screen. Learn more.
The UK’s Telegraph published a story naming Lotusland one of the 10 best gardens in the world. Author Christopher Bailes, a Chelsea Flower Show judge and past Royal Horticulture Society Curator at Rosemoore Garden named Lotusland as his number four garden. Read the article here.
