Tag archives: Rebecca Anderson

Lotusland Forever Capital Campaign Updates
By Joanne A Calitri   |   October 8, 2024

Lotusland Executive Director Rebecca Anderson with her Board of Trustees and team held a meeting at Ganna Walska Lotusland on Monday, September 30, to provide updates on their capital campaign titled “The Lotusland Forever Campaign.” Attendees included Elizabeth Anderson of Whittier Trust, and patrons of the organization. Anderson opened the program by introducing Board of […]

Exceptional Plants Auction: Lotusland’s Horticultural Hoedown
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 13, 2024

Crossing Encephalartos horridus with Encephalartos woodii might sound like the formula for developing the world’s next deadly disease. But horticulturalists will realize that it’s actually a unique cycad hybrid – one that results in super spiny and glossy green leaves. The Lotusland-created specimen will be among the hundreds of rare and specimen plants available at […]

Lotusland Goes Global
By Richard Mineards   |   March 19, 2024

Lotusland – Montecito’s 37-acre botanical paradise which is limited by a conditional use permit to just 20,000 visitors annually – is going global thanks to a free arts and cultural app from Bloomberg, joining 380 cultural partners worldwide with an astonishing 29 million users. “It will certainly bring Lotusland to a considerably larger audience,” Executive […]

Lotusland: LotusFest’s Return Launches 30th Anniversary Lotusland Forever Campaign
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 12, 2023

Cue the fanfare! LotusFest is coming back to Lotusland, the spectacular public gardens nestled in the Cold Spring neighborhood of Montecito. The Saturday, September 16, afternoon affair represents the post-pandemic return of the event, which provides an opportunity to enjoy a treasured wine-and-beer affair ensconced in the lush green lawns surrounded by a wonderland of […]

Sustainability Symposium Goes to Ground
By Jeff Wing   |   March 28, 2023

Life-giving energy enters our biosphere as solar light; just incidentally fading our favorite curtains, keeping sunblock magnates in lobster bisque, and fomenting Earth’s diverse panoply of life—from Argoacterium to Tax Attorney. Our warm, wet little planet does its part to receive this bath of solar nourishment, endlessly turning on its axis like a rotisserie chicken. […]

Ganna Walska Lotusland
By Lynda Millner   |   April 12, 2022

Ganna Walska Lotusland held its annual meeting in a different place this year: Instead of being indoors, we were in the Theatre Garden enjoying the beauty and then unto the lawn for a picnic lunch. Board president Lesley Cunningham welcomed all. Thanks were given to departing Trustees Suzanne Mathews and Alexandra Morse and welcome to […]

Screening for Lutah
By Lynda Millner   |   December 14, 2021

Ganna Walska Lotusland recently collaborated with the Lutah Maria Riggs Society for a screening at the Lobero of the award-winning documentary film, Lutah—A Passion for Architecture: A Life in Design. There was a patrons’ reception in the tent prior to the filming. As Lotusland executive director Rebecca Anderson said, “When we dig into the Lotusland […]

Building Love at Lotusland
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 14, 2021

Anyone who’s visited Lotusland over the past quarter-century knows that the gorgeous botanical garden in the Montecito foothills boasts 37 acres of natural wonder that encompass more than 20 distinct gardens and exhibitions. Most folks who have walked the grounds are aware of how Lotusland remains a personal expression of its former owner, the opera […]

Petal to the Metal
By Lynda Millner   |   September 7, 2021

Lotusland’s fabulous summer soirée was dazzling as usual, this time mixing motors (cars) with Ganna Walska plants. As quoted by the Los Angeles Times, “For Walska, plants were more than plants; they were colors to paint with, a family to nurture, characters to direct.” The 30 cars were all privately owned and all Italian, who […]

Lotusland Art Sale
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 22, 2021

In an effort to rethink traditional in-person fundraising efforts, Lotusland has announced a new benefit event, Sanctuary.  Earlier this year, 36 local artists were asked to create new work inspired by Lotusland. The artists were given three days to visit the Garden and only eight weeks to create, capture, and complete their muse at Lotusland. […]

Ganna Walska Lotusland CEO Retires
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 26, 2019

Gwen Stauffer’s eleven-year stewardship of Lotusland will be remembered by many achievements, most recently the completion of Lotusland’s Japanese Garden renovation. Lotusland’s Board of Trustees has named Rebecca Anderson, currently the Garden’s Director of Philanthropy, as Lotusland’s Interim Executive Director. “We are all very excited to have Rebecca help lead the organization moving forward,” said […]