tropical garden

Kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum)

This garden began with Madame Walska’s collection of orchid cacti (Epiphyllum), which were moved to this location in the late 1970s. A surprising number of these and other tropical plants thrive in Santa Barbara.

The rock-lined streambed which meanders through the garden carries runoff from rains and overflow water from the Japanese garden pond.

Masses of gingers, both Alpinia and Hedychium, enhance the baskets of orchid cacti which hang from coast live oaks and dead eucalyptus trunks. A planting of ornamental (Ensete) and edible (Musa) bananas is another striking feature of this shady garden.

“Indeed, what distinguishes Lotusland from most other ornamental gardens is its unique – some might say bizarre – flourishes. A true innovator, Walska also came up with the idea of ‘mass plantings,’ now de rigueur for every landscape designer.”

- Wall Street Journal

© 2012 Ganna Walska Lotusland