Step onto the Ganna Walska Lotusland grounds — or peek over its side wall on Sycamore Canyon Road — and eagle-eyed visitors and neighbors might catch a glimpse of a large basin and massive, sprawling concrete structures inside.
The 37-acre garden often known simply as Lotusland, nestled into a residential neighborhood in Montecito, has embarked on a water security and sustainability plan.
At the heart of the plan is StormTrap, an underground reservoir and catchment tank that will capture stormwater runoff, filter it and store it.
The water will be redistributed into a system that will irrigate the garden, according to Lotusland Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Anderson and Chief Operations Officer Adam Flint, who walked Noozhawk through a tour of the garden and the project earlier this month.
Lotusland plants are currently watered using well water pulled from a nearby reservoir.
About five years ago, Anderson was on a call with directors of other gardens during the peak of a drought cycle.
Each garden director discussed plans for dealing with perpetual drought, and Lotusland was “feeling like the collections were in jeopardy,” she explained.
However, rather than choose areas of the garden “to selectively water less or allow to perish,” staff pivoted, she said.
“Rather than an approach that would be about sacrificing the garden, it shifted my thinking entirely to creating a plan for how to be creative with our resource management, including water,” Anderson said.
Plans spawned from there. An extensive 2022 water study from Kimley-Horn looked at several water conservation solutions, from indigenous practices to modern technology.
The garden is in the process of launching phase one of its 2024 approved Master Plan, which includes adding 200,000 gallons of water storage through the underground reservoir.
According to Anderson, once the water study recommendations “are realized, well water usage will be offset by roughly 40%.”
Flint said Lotusland wants to be prepared for both bigger storms and periods of drought.
“If we get large amounts of rain and we’re able to capture most of it and offset our well by much more, then fantastic,” he said. “But if we were to go through a large drought period — the last one was around seven months — we want to be able to capture what water we can because we just want to make sure we’re good stewards in that way.”
Carving out the basin began in January. In March, crews installed the concrete reservoir and began waterproofing.
Construction on the reservoir is expected to wrap up in June. Dust should settle in time for July’s annual fundraiser — Lotusland Celebrates: Botanical Splendor, with special guest Martha Stewart.
The 2024 Master Plan also includes above-ground work and landscaping.
The garden plans to create an oak woodland and an outdoor classroom; an ADA-compliant boardwalk through the tropical garden; a riparian area; and a native habitat along the Sycamore Canyon Road corridor.
The garden also plans to restore its pink wall, which surrounds the property along Ashley Road, Sycamore Canyon Road and Cold Springs Road, to the original color.
The wall was originally designed by famed Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith.
“Over time, (the color) patinaed, and we kind of embraced the patinae … but it needs some refreshing, so we are excited to do the color support,” Anderson said.
Other project team members include Peter Lapidus Construction Inc., Flowers & Associates Inc. and Arcadia Studio Landscape Architecture & Design.
Public, reservation-only tours of the botanical garden will continue during construction, but those slots fill up quickly. Anderson warned that visitors should schedule their visits three to four weeks in advance.
The tours are limited to 200 visitors per day in 2026. The current tour season runs from March 11 through Nov. 14.
New volunteers are always welcome, with a garden guide training scheduled for this spring, Anderson said.
“It’s a wonderful place to spend time,” she said.