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Podcasts Off-Ramp
Madame Walska's Secret Garden: Lotusland in Santa Barbara
Off-Ramp with John Rabe Hero Image
(
Dan Carino
)
Jul 10, 2010
Listen • 4:06
Madame Walska's Secret Garden: Lotusland in Santa Barbara
Madame Ganna Walska was a Polish-born socialite, married six times. She was an aspiring opera vocalist who despite years of voice lessons simply couldn't sing-- her story inspired Orsen Welle's to write Citizen Kane's second wife. In 1941 she bought a huge estate in Montecito (just outside of Santa Barbara) and called it Lotusland. It's one of the most impressive botanical gardens in the country. Madame Walska died in 1984 but her estate has thrived with myriad lotus flowers, topiary bushes and cycad plants--those are stout seed plants that kind of look like short palm trees. Cyndi Bemel walked through the gardens with Lotusland curator Virginia Hayes. Click through for a photographic tour of the gorgeous property!
Lotusland
Lotusland
(
Bill Dewey
)
Lotusland
Lotusland
(
Cyndi Bemel
)

Madame Ganna Walska was a Polish-born socialite, married six times. She was an aspiring opera vocalist who despite years of voice lessons simply couldn't sing-- her story inspired Orsen Welle's to write Citizen Kane's second wife. In 1941 she bought a huge estate in Montecito (just outside of Santa Barbara) and called it Lotusland. It's one of the most impressive botanical gardens in the country. Madame Walska died in 1984 but her estate has thrived with myriad lotus flowers, topiary bushes and cycad plants--those are stout seed plants that kind of look like short palm trees. Cyndi Bemel walked through the gardens with Lotusland curator Virginia Hayes. Click through for a photographic tour of the gorgeous property!

Madame Ganna Walska was a Polish-born socialite, married six times. She was an aspiring opera vocalist who despite years of voice lessons simply couldn't sing-- her story inspired Orsen Welle's to write Citizen Kane's second wife. In 1941 she bought a huge estate in Montecito (just outside of Santa Barbara) and called it Lotusland. It's one of the most impressive botanical gardens in the country. Madame Walska died in 1984 but her estate has thrived with myriad lotus flowers, topiary bushes and cycad plants--those are stout seed plants that kind of look like short palm trees. Cyndi Bemel walked through the gardens with Lotusland curator Virginia Hayes. Click through for a photographic tour of the gorgeous property!