“A lot of gardens think about their gardens simply as data,” said Corey Welles of Ganna Walska Lotusland. “We don’t. It’s about environmental stewardship and art all mixed together. That’s why I like it here so much.” As the exotic plants expert at Lotusland for the last 25 years, Welles sees to the overall health and happiness of Montecito’s most unique botanic garden and the rare and exotic plants that call it home through completely organic means. As one of the only totally organic botanic gardens in the country, Lotusland utilizes compost tea and a philosophy of biodiversity, which takes into account everything from bugs to birds as a part of the ecosystem. “You don’t want to spend all your time chasing dead ends. I want to find out what works and move towards that in sweeping ways,” said Welles. “When you grow organically, you can spend your time watering, planting, and doing all the fun stuff. Each plant has a tiny universe in it.”