Lotus flowers and roses are two of our favorite botanicals growing here at Los Poblanos and are the inspiration behind our upcoming The Lotus & The Rose workshop on Saturday, August 5th. Join us for a full day of relaxation and learning surrounded by our beautiful gardens. Begin the morning with a sound healing meditation, led by Aimee Conlee, where you will practice breathing, light stretching, and relaxation techniques involving sound. Once you’re fully relaxed, take a leisurely stroll around the pond and though the rose gardens, where Christa Obuchowski will talk about the different types of roses and how their essential oils are utilized in aromatherapy and herbal medicine. The in-depth discussion will continue with a demonstration of the distillation process that Christa uses to extract the precious oils from the plants.
The day continues with a gourmet picnic lunch under the cottonwoods. Sit a while, have a chat, and enjoy the breezes and birdsongs of the property before continuing on to the rest of the day’s activities. Spend the afternoon crafting your own botanical fragrances and tinctures from hand-distilled floral oils. Christa will talk you through the make-up and uses of each oil and help you to formulate a composition tailored to your own likes and needs.
A final grounding sound healing session will bring the day to a peaceful close. Take some time to reflect on what you’ve learned and experienced throughout the day. This workshop is designed to fully immerse your senses in the lotus and the rose, leaving you with a feeling of calm and wellbeing. To sign up for The Lotus & The Rose or see what other events we have planned, please visit our Events Calendar.
The Lotuses and Roses at Los Poblanos
People are often surprised to learn that there is lotus pond sitting unassumingly in the middle of our property. Lotuses are not a botanical you usually expect to see in the desert southwest. The delicate pink and white flowers would seem more at home in the ornate water gardens of China and yet they thrive here in our little river valley. Legend has it that back in the 70s a single lotus root was tossed into the pond, just to see if it would grow. To much surprise, not only did it just survive, it absolutely thrived. Today the pond is nearly full to brimming with massive leaves and blossoms, all propagated by that solitary lotus root.
The Rose Greely Garden, another of the property’s hidden gems, is set privately on the west side of the historic Los Poblanos ranch house and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful spaces on the property. Designed in the early 1930s by famed landscape architect Rose Greely, it is home to over 30 varieties of heirloom roses as well as a small reflecting pool ornamented by water lilies and lotuses. The garden has been tended with care by owner Penny Rembe for the past four decades. Following the original plans, which she discovered shortly after moving into what is now the historic inn, she has worked tirelessly to preserve the beauty and integrity of the space as it was initially intended so many years ago.