Tohono Chul Tours SW Botanical Gardens

The American Public Garden Association recently sent an email to its members reminding us how much we all need public gardens, now more than ever. Gardens “whether they are naturally preserved and conserved or deliberately designed to evoke awe and emotion . . . can be the place where all can connect on common ground.” In addition to being unique healing spaces, botanic gardens introduce casual visitors to the wonderful diversity of plant life, make plant geeks giddy and help us all reconnect to the natural world. A perfect example of a space that is more than simply “a garden containing scientifically ordered and maintained collections of plants, usually documented and labeled,” is Madame Ganna Walska’s Lotusland in Santa Barbara. A Polish opera singer in the 1920s, whose lackluster career may have inspired portions of Citizen Kane, Walska is today best known for her horticultural passion. An avid collector of aloes, bromeliads, cycads and, of course, lotus, Walska brought her own landscape design style to her 37-acre estate, creating “distinctive gardens of exceptional creativity.”

Spring 2017, Tohono Chul Botanic Garden is making a journey of exploration, visiting some of the exquisite (Huntington), eclectic (Getty) and exotic (Lotusland) botanic gardens in and around Los Angeles with plant experts Greg Corman of Gardening Insights and Lynn Hassler, former Director of Education at Tucson Botanical Gardens providing us an insider’s viewpoint. Join us and be inspired!

California Bloomin’ – the Botanical Gardens of Southern California and More

March 29-April 6, 2017

$3150 per person / double occupancy ($875 single supplement)

Click here to view a complete schedule!

Experience an insider’s view

On the itinerary are visits to Huntington Gardens, whose highlights include the recently opened Liu Fang Yuan Garden of Flowing Fragrance, reflecting the traditional style of Chinese scholar gardens; Descanso Gardens, an urban retreat preserving California’s natural heritage; LA County Arboretum, with collections from Australia, the Canary Islands, Madagascar and South Africa; Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, showcasing eight habitats of the state; and, fabled Lotusland, noted for its rare and exotic aloes, bromeliads and cycads. But that’s not all, we are also touring The Getty, inside and out; Greene & Greene’s Gamble House, a classic of craftsmen workmanship; the Norton-Simon Museum; noted Hashimoto and Yamaguchi Bonsai Nurseries; and the mid-century modern architecture of Palm Springs. And for a bit of nature-in-the-raw, we’ve planned a wildlife watching cruise of the Channel Islands!

We’ll be spending four nights at The Langham–Huntington, one of Pasadena’s most luxurious resorts, an additional three nights at the charming and historic Hotel Santa Barbara in the heart of downtown, and our last evening at the Indian Wells Resort Hotel in retro Palm Springs. And we’ve paid attention to detail when it comes to dining, offering a selection of some of the best restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area.

For more information, please contact:

Jo Falls, Director of Education

Tohono Chul – where nature, art and culture connect

7366 N. Paseo del Norte | Tucson | AZ | 85704-4415

(520) 742-6455 x 228 | jfalls@tohonochul.org

Please mention you learned of this trip through UA Campus Arboretum publicity!