Ganna Walska was a Polish opera singer and garden enthusiast who created the Lotusland botanical gardens at her mansion in Montecito, California. She was married six times, four times to wealthy husbands. The lavish promotion of her lackluster opera career by her fourth husband, Harold Fowler McCormick, inspired aspects of the screenplay for Citizen Kane.
Passport photo of Ganna Walska (1920)
Ganna Walska after her marriage to Harold F. McCormick
Mansion entrance at Lotusland
Ganna Walska Lotusland, also known as Lotusland, is a non-profit botanical garden located in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, United States. The garden is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska. The County of Santa Barbara restricts visitation via a conditional use permit: Lotusland botanic garden is open to the public by reservation only, with walking tours 1½ to 2 hours long.
Lotus plants at Lotusland
Aechmea fasciata at Lotusland
Golden Barrel cacti at Lotusland, 2017
Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricosum) at Lotusland