Gems of the Garden

Lotusland held their always-sold out garden soirée, which seemed a metaphor for Montecito. As they said, “Just as our namesake, the lotuses, awaken annually from their winter dormancy to rise out of the deep mud and bloom in glorious splendor once again, we gather to celebrate our community’s extraordinary resilience and renewal.”

This 37 acres is really 25 individual gardens and is the result of Madame Ganna Walska’s passion the last 40 years of her life. This is also the 25th anniversary of being a garden open to the public. Madame was so determined to finish the work she had begun that in 1970s she auctioned off her jewelry to finance the Cycad Garden, one of a kind in the world. As Better Homes and Gardens stated, “Lotusland is one of the 14 gardens you should visit before you die.”

Madame Ganna Walska was as eccentric and glamorous as the garden she created. She was of humble origin but became an international celebutant with a penchant for collecting men, among other things. She had a sporadic opera career and six husbands. She was born in Poland in 1887. After her mom died, she lived with relatives in St. Petersburg. At 19, she married a Russian count, but couldn’t stand his carousing. After dissolving that marriage, she took singing lessons in Russia and Paris and changed her name from Hanna Puacz to Walska because she loved to waltz.

She went to New York because of the impending war and collected five more husbands. She and her last husband, Theos, bought the estate in Montecito known as Cuesta Linda in 1941 for $40,000. They renamed it Tibetland. After divorcing Theos (20 years her junior), Ganna changed the name to Lotusland and began her 40-year project. She passed away in 1984, leaving her entire estate to Public Charity.

As CEO Gwen Stauffer said, “We have over 3,000 species of extraordinary and rare exotic plants.” The lotus flowers bloom in the summer with each bloom lasting only two days and are located in the original estate swimming pool. It costs $3 million to keep the garden open with no government funding—just donors, members, and visitors. Ganna Walska referred to herself as “An enemy of the average.” There’s nothing average about Lotusland.

Oscar de la Renta loved Lotusland, so it seemed appropriate for the four co-chairs Belle Hahn Cohen, Nati Smith, Eileen Rasmussen, and Yasmine Zodeh to ask the company to appear in the garden for the gala. They came with their pre-fall and fall 2018 collection and both live and faux mannequins. Other eye-catching items were the abstract series of paintings by Russell Young inspired by Lotusland. There were jewelry design illustrations and correspondence between Madame and Suzanne Belperron, along with original jewels.

After a garden tour and cocktail hour on the great lawn, it was dinnertime by duo Catering followed by a live auction by world-renowned auctioneer Eliza Osborne, deputy director of the Armory Show. One standout was the chance to own a pair of Ganna’s earrings by Belperron.

There is now a first-ever honorary committee to recognize members from previous years, who have helped ensure Lotusland’s success with their volunteer involvement. The honorary chair was Hania Tallmadge, Madame’s niece.

I love the title of Ganna’s book, Always Room at the Top. She created a place to match the title and lived like that as well. If you’d like to see all the magic, call (805) 969-9990 for a reservation.