Lotusland

In 1941, Ganna Walska, an Opera Singer and garden enthusiast purchased the 37-acre “Cuesta Linda” in Montecito, California intending to use it as a retreat for Tibetan monks. Due to restrictions on wartime visas, the monks were unable to travel to the United States. In 1946, Walska changed the name of her estate to Lotusland in honor of her Buddhist beliefs and the lotus growing in several of her garden's ponds. She devoted her later years to designing, redesigning, expanding, and maintaining the estate's renowned innovative and extensive gardens until her death in 1984 at the age of 96.