Let me start off my first post by introducing myself, my name is Beth Rudd, and I'm one of the summer interns working at Duke Gardens this summer. Each of us get to select an intern project, and I'm going to spend mine working in the water gardens. Today was only my second day to get into the ponds, but on a 90 degree plus day, it feels great to cool down, even in hip waders.
Today we planted several tropical water lilies that are part of an international competition of new hybrids. Each lily is planted into a plastic pot, with clay soil, and then sunk into the pond. Having never done this before I was surprised at how simple it was - it doesn't even matter if the leaves of the plant don't quite reach the surface, apparently they will grow to make up the difference in just a few days!
In general I've just been trying to learn about the different water plants - and how to identify them. Duke has both tropical and hardy water lilies, which you can tell apart by the thickness of their leaves, and the shape of the leaf edges.
The water lotus are also hitting their prime, with big, beautiful flowers. As I waded around in the ponds I saw that these plants are also pretty vigorous, spreading several feet from their original pot. But probably what i'm most excited about are the victoria waterlilies, which apparently get huge leaves and flowers, and are native to the Amazon region of South America. Be sure to come by Duke and check out these amazing plants!
This year's entries to the IWGS New Waterlily Competition have been placed in the Fish Pool at the base of the terraces and are showing off their first blooms! These new hybrids will be on display through September, with peak bloom time occurring from mid-July to mid-August. Starting in July and continuing through the end of August, visitors to the Gardens will be able to vote for their favorite lilies in the third annual "People's Choice Awards". Votes can be cast using ballots available pond-side, or by visiting our website.
Here is a sneak peek of a few of the colorful hardy and tropical waterlilies vying for the Best New Waterlily of 2009. Come see them in person this summer, and let us know which lily you prefer!
