The Glorious Gardens of Santa Barbara and Montecito — on Full Display 100 Years Ago

In the Spring of 1926, the Garden Club of America Held its Annual Meeting in Santa Barbara

Grand Central Station to Santa Barbara, Morning Press April 13, 1926 | Credit: Courtesy

In the spring of 1926, the Garden Club of America held its annual meeting in Santa Barbara. Affluent garden-lovers from the East Coast boarded a special train at Grand Central Station, for the cross-country trip. Many of the delegates to the meeting stayed at the luxurious El Mirasol hotel for the four-day event — and they visited spectacular gardens of the great estates of Santa Barbara and Montecito.

An editorial in the Morning Press welcomed the Garden Club delegates to the convention: “While our gardens may be said to be ‘at their best’ they are just as beautiful most of the year and as a matter of fact, we seldom have ‘a best’ time in Santa Barbara for showing beauty.”

It continued, “We love Santa Barbara because to us of Santa Barbara it is the most loveable city in America. Founded in the long ago by the self-sacrificing Franciscan Friars, the growth of Santa Barbara has been gradual, but the city has been builded in love by those who came here and settled because they found it a delightful place to live. There has been harmony, generally, and always a united loyalty of the place that we call our home.”

The editorial concluded, “Our welcome to you as visitors to our homes is all the more sincere because of this love we have for our city, because we feel that we have so much to be appreciative of and thankful for that we can and should share it with those who come amongst us. We of Santa Barbara hope you like your visit. Come again!”

Granda house development patio | Credit: Courtesy
Arcady garden gate | Credit: Edison Smith
El Cerritto circa 1917 | Credit: Courtesy
Santa Barbara Mission | Credit: Courtesy
Spring flowers at El Cerritto | Credit: Courtesy
Glendessary | Credit: Courtesy

Lower garden at the Arcady, George Owen Knapp house, Sycamore Canyon Road, Montecito, California | Credit: Courtesy

Following the private tours for the Garden Club, the public was — after a time when they were not allowed — once again invited to participate in tours. But they were cautioned in an article in the Morning Press to mind their manners:

Las Tejas, Oakleigh Thorne house | Credit: Courtesy

“The pleasant custom of opening beautiful gardens to the public has been inaugurated again. There was a time once when most of the lovely estates were open for inspection, but the public abused the privilege, picked the flowers and trampled them. Now a system of garden tours have been instituted in connection with the Better Homes campaign. The gardens will be open only on certain days and in connection with a garden tour planned by a committee representing the Plans and Plans of Community Arts association, Better Homes committee, Garden Club of Santa Barbara and Montecito and the Santa Barbara Horticultural Society.

“Doubtless the tours, arranged twice a week, will prove of untold educational value. Perhaps the majority of garden lovers and home owners who go on the tours can not hope to have large estates, but these estates are made up of small gardens, and these small gardens may furnish inspiration for their own. There is always something to be learned in color and arrangement to be applied on a smaller scale.”

Cheri Rae is a longtime neighborhood advocate and the author of A String of Pearls: Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara. She is a board member of the Pearl Chase Society, and the longtime editor of the society’s newsletter, “The Capital,” where this article first appeared. Email Cheri at pcs@pearchasesociety.org or visit pearlchasesociety.org.