The Lily Pond Seal

This design was inspired by one of the pools at Lotusland in Montecito, California. Years ago, I came across a photograph of Ganna Walska standing among the enormous Victoria water lilies she planted there. Walska was an opera singer who spent the second half of her life creating Lotusland, transforming a private estate into one of the world's great gardens. She reminds me that a garden is not simply found. It is made. Although inspired by Lotusland, I wanted this pond to belong to everyone. Tucked among the water lilies and giant Victoria lily pads is a tiny bushtit, a bird native to California's central coast. This seal asks us to Remember the Garden. We all have a garden, whether it is an actual plot of earth or the life we are cultivating. Are we making time for beauty? Are we enjoying at least some time each day as if strolling a leisurely garden? The earth itself is the largest garden there is, and it was made with paths meant for wandering.