By 1900 this unique product of Monet's imagination (for his Impressionism had become more subjective) was in itself a major work of environmental art an exotic lotusland within which he was to meditate and paint for almost 30 years.
It's the lotusland equivalent of Tom DeLay's 2003 midterm redistricting in Texas, except with a sweeter smell, a better disguise, and larger stakes.
Maybe batten down the hatches if you're in Lotusland.
Instead, it maps the precise coordinates of a Lotusland long thought to have vanished but now tucked away at China Institute.
As you learn about Ganna Walska, the would-be opera singer from Poland who created Lotusland, you'll also discover a dazzling array of exotic and rare plants, from the towering birds of paradise and wacky succulents to elegant pink lotuses blooming out of muddy waters -- a real-life "Fantasia".
Ganna Walska, who created Lotusland, was no stranger to their mysterious allure.
All over Southern California, Florida and Hawaii -- where most cycads can survive outdoors -- enthusiasts are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in creating Lotusland backyards.
Three of the rarest and most valuable cycads in the world reside at Lotusland.
It happened more than a year ago, while taking a guided tour of Lotusland, a fantastical garden in Montecito, Calif.
Lotusland, which she purchased in 1941 at age 54, would become her consuming passion.
If antiquing is not your pleasure, amble over to State Street, the heart of the downtown shopping scene. 1 p.m. 6) A Botanical Wonder One of Santa Barbara's best-kept secrets is Lotusland (805-969-9990), a 37-acre estate in the Montecito foothills that is open to the public from mid-February to mid-November for two-hour botanical tours led by docents well-versed in the history of the gardens.
