Ralph Kinton Stevens purchased the land in 1882; he and his wife, Caroline Lucy Tallant, named the property "Tanglewood". They established a lemon and palm nursery and eventually added other tropical plants to the collection and were among the early plantsmen of Santa Barbara. In 1916 the estate was sold to the Gavit family, from Albany, New York, who renamed it "Cuesta Linda". They added landscape elements, garden structures, and the main residence designed in 1919 by Reginald Johnson in the Mediterranean Revival style. In 1921–1927 they commissioned additional landscape buildings and alterations to the residence in the Spanish Colonial Revival style from George Washington Smith. His work includes the water garden pool house and the distinctive pink walls of the estate. The gardens were created over four decades by opera singer Madame Ganna Walska, who owned the property as a private residence from 1941 until her death in 1984. She was assisted in landscape planning and garden design by Peter Riedel, Ralph Stevens, Lockwood DeForest, and Joseph Knowles. The garden was opened to the public in 1993.
Gardens
The Lotusland estate grounds contain several distinct gardens, including:
Featuring plants with silvery to blue-gray foliage, including Blue Atlas Cedar, Chilean wine palms, blue fescue, Senecio mandraliscae, Mexican blue palm, Queenslandkauri, bunya-bunya, hoop pine and two camphor trees.
Bromeliads gardens
Here bromeliads cover the ground between large coast live oaks. Other notable plants include a branched pygmy date palm, Trithrinax brasiliensis palms and giant ponytail palms.
Butterfly gardens
Featuring varieties of flowering plants that support butterflies and other insects.
featuring a collection of columnar cacti begun in 1929 by Merritt Dunlap. Over 500 plants, representing about 300 different species of cacti in geographically organized groups. Notable specimens include species of Opuntia from the Galapagos Islands, Armatocereus from Peru and a complete collection of the genus Weberbauerocereus. Accent plants include Fouquieria columnaris, dry-growing bromeliads and several Agave species. The garden was designed by Eric Nagelmann and opened in 2004. A recent addition in 2014 completed Nagelmann's design.
Cacti and euphorbias gardens
A collection of cacti and euphorbias, including a mass of golden barrel cacti and large, weeping Euphorbia ingens.
The Cycad Garden
Lotusland has over 900 specimens of cycads, with nine of the eleven living genera and more than half of the known species represented. The collection includes three Encephalartos woodii, among the world’s rarest cycads and extinct in the wild.
Fern gardens
Featuring many types of ferns, such as Australian Tree Ferns and giant staghorn ferns. Other shade-loving plants such as angel trumpet tree, calla lily, clivia hybrids and a collection of Hawaiian Pritchardia palms are present.
The Japanese Garden
A small Shinto shrine surrounded by Sugi, Coast Redwood, a wisteria arbor, Japanese Maples, camellias, azaleas and several species of pine pruned in the Niwaki style.
Deciduous orchard, with 100 fruit trees and olive trees from the 1880s.
The Parterre Garden
Formal planting beds and brick walkways with two central water features. Plantings include hedges, floribunda roses, and day lilies.
Succulent gardens
A variety of succulents including Madagascar Palm, Aeonium, Fouquieria, Kalanchoe, Echeveria, Haworthia, Yucca and Sansevieria.
The Topiary Garden
Featuring a horticultural clock 25 feet in diameter, bordered by Senecio mandraliscae; a boxwoodmaze; and a "zoo" of 26 topiary animals, including a camel, gorilla, giraffe and seal. Other frames are shaped as chess pieces and geometric shapes. Lotusland received an anonymous $1 million gift to endow the topiary garden in 2014.
Tropical gardens
Featuring orchid cacti, gingers and bananas both ornamental and edible.
