Corey Welles wields a hose in the gardens at Lotusland in Montecito, where he directs the famed garden’s plant health care and is more a labor of love than a job. “I’m motivated by being part of something much larger than myself and seeing the transformation (of the garden) into a vibrant, living sanctuary,” he said. 
Covered in blue pollen, a bee browses the flowers at Lotusland. 
Corey Welles digs into compost at Lotusland. Welles led a successful collaboration with UC Berkeley and UC Davis to restore the garden’s soil and attract insect pollinators. 
Lotusland’s insectary is a key part of the garden’s revitalization. 
Echium blooms at Lotusland. 
An owl keeps a watchful eye from a perch high in a tree. 
Busy bee. 
A red-shouldered hawk surveys its domain.
A grandmother’s tamales paved the way for a radical partnership with nature in Montecito. Over the last 30 years, Corey Welles has used sustainable horticultural to transform Lotusland. His story is that of The Biggest Little Farm, set among cycads and succulents instead of peaches and pigs.
The youngest of six children in a first-generation Mexican-American family, Welles was a high-energy child with free roam of Mission Hills in San Diego. His passion was wilderness and the life that thrives there.
By the age of 8, he had collected hundreds of insects, including at least one deadly wasp, and several wild ducks, which he nurtured for years before successfully releasing back into the wild.
“I was the kid who taught the other kids to fish,” Welles recalled.
When he and his family moved up the coast to Santa Barbara, he reconnected with his aunt, who had spent her childhood playing in the gardens of Lotusland while her mother prepared tamales in the estate kitchen.
Later, as a Santa Barbara City College horticulture student, Welles was made aware of a job at Lotusland.
He “didn’t even make it through the interview,” Welles said of the 1990 opportunity. “It was destiny.”
Now a nationally respected leader in sustainable horticulture and Lotusland’s plant health care lead, Welles’ career at Lotusland was anything but natural at the start.
“I was the spray guy,” he said of his first role on the Lotusland team.
Like many conventional farms and gardens, Lotusland deployed synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and rodenticides to control growth and remove pests. But the garden was in trouble.
“We were losing $10,000 cycads,” Welles said. “(The synthetic approach) wasn’t working.”
So began his quest to heal the soil.
“We took full responsibility for the disease in the garden and that’s when things got better,” he explained, understanding that restoring Lotusland to health would require “partnering with the environment instead of fighting it.”
Seeking horticultural expertise, Welles collaborated with professors at UC Berkeley and UC Davis to eliminate the garden’s use of synthetic treatments, by building soil and attracting pollinators (i.e. insects). Yes, more bugs means less pests!
Their approach included creating an insectary — a garden that attracts beneficial insects — reintroducing native species, composting, and brewing and spraying compost tea.
“There go your aphids!” Welles exclaimed.
Today, a visit to the garden makes the success of Welles’ approach abundantly clear. Birds of prey, including white-tailed kite, circle overhead; native bees are busy pollinating California wildflowers; and bobcats prowl the property at night.
Lotusland is a hive of activity; a well of life. Synthetic fertilizers, rodenticides and insecticides have not been used on the property since 1997. It’s a story of healing, sustainability and partnership in our own backyard.
With roots as a commercial nursery in the 1880s, the property was purchased by Polish opera star and socialite Ganna Walska in 1941 and developed into a spectacular collection of more than 3,000 exotic plants, organized into 20 distinct gardens.
Today, Corey leads a team of nine people to care for the property’s 37 acres. They’re able to keep the team lean because nature does so much of the work for them.
That’s not to say it’s an easy job or resources are plentiful. Lotusland is a nonprofit organization funded entirely by donations and its needs are great. A small army of volunteers is a big help, but the work is difficult.
Yet, nearly 30 years in, Welles remains more committed to his craft than ever.
“I’m motivated by being part of something much larger than myself and seeing the transformation (of the garden) into a vibrant, living sanctuary,” he said.
He is also thrilled by the garden’s growing and evolving wildlife population. Welles has had a gray fox run between his legs, watched an entire family of great horned owls hatch and mature, spent days chasing a family of deer before watching them casually trot out the front gate, and convinced at least one (non-native) elephant to stop snacking on rare species.
Looking ahead, Welles hopes to share “truths about soil health” with everyone from large-scale farmers to windowsill gardeners.
“I want Lotusland to be a national model for ecologically based gardening and breathtaking plant display,” he said. “We are not replacing true wild conservation by any means, but we are (building) a bridge between nature and man.”
And for those of us just getting started? Welles instructs simply, “Partnering with the soil is where it all begins. Bring the insects back (with nectar from flowering plants), build the soil, and your garden will thrive.”
When not cycling up Gibraltar Peak, free diving for lobster off the Channel Islands or winning a local Ironman, Welles can be found at Lotusland, leading his team in their effort to validate and showcase sustainable horticultural.
Click here for more information about visiting Lotusland, and witnessing his partnership with nature in action.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Lizzy Fallows can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.