I returned to Southern California last week for a family wedding in Ojai near Santa Barbara. Since our son and his family now live in Connecticut, I’ve been missing my trips to the land of light and its beautiful botanic gardens. I made up for lost opportunities by touring Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito, one of the great gardens of the world. A member of our family is now gardener in charge of the cacti and succulents there, and he gave us a private tour on a closed Monday afternoon. Though I’d visited the garden years ago, it was a treat to walk through it with someone so knowledgeable and eager to share its quirks and beauties. High clouds rolled in before our tour, and though the light was flat, it allowed the plants to reveal themselves in different ways. The cacti, from all over the Americas, are always spectacular, but the soft light emphasized their textures, and color variations were more evident in the succulents. Many of the aloes were getting ready to bloom, though this pink aloe, located near a kidney shaped pond surrounded by giant clam shells, was striking on its own. My favorite part of the tour was a walk through the cycad gardens, where more than 450 specimens of these primitive cone-bearing plants are on display. I had to be dragged away by my camera strap, but then I found myself among blooming bromeliads and could have spent the rest of the afternoon framing their unusual blossoms with my lens. Though the gardens are renowned (and named) for the dazzling display of Asian lotus blossoms, all was quiet in the lotus pool. I had to make do with palms, ferns, roses, and the topiary gardens. There’s a short “flyover” video on the website. If you can’t be there in person, at least enjoy this bird’s eye view of the 37-acre garden.