2010 People's Choice Awards - Vote for Your Favorite New Waterlily Hybrids Today!

This summer's waterlily season is off to an excellent start, with 33 brand new waterlily hybrids from around the world growing rapidly in our Virtue Peace Pond.  These new lilies came to us this spring from Canada, Taiwan, Thailand, Cyprus, and the U.S.

Five of the entries are tropical night-bloomers, 11 are tropical day-bloomers, and 17 are hardy waterlilies (all hardy waterlilies are day-bloomers).

Our volunteer waterlily team is working hard to keep these special plants fertilized and groomed (removing dead leaves and spent blooms) throughout the summer months.

Photos are taken of the flower buds, 1st through 3rd day blooms, 2nd day blooms with a ruler, the leaves, and the plants with a yard stick to show their size.  These photos will be sent to the IWGS in mid-August.  A panel of IWGS judges will then choose the Best New Waterlily of 2010, as well as the Best New Hardy and Best New Tropical Waterlilies of the year.

If you live near the Gardens, don't miss your chance to see these unique new hybrids up close in the Virtue Peace Pond, which is located directly behind the Doris Duke Visitor's Center.  An interpretive sign has been placed pond-side to give details on the contest, and bookmarks with all of the voting information are also available in this location and at our information desk.

We would like to invite you to choose your own favorite new waterlily hybrids as part of the 4th Annual People's Choice Awards, the public voting portion of the contest. Vote for your favorites today on our website at sarahpdukegardens.org.  Check back weekly for new photos as the tropicals come into bloom!

Tropical Waterlilies Make Their Debut

Today was an exciting day in the water gardens!  Thanks to the help of our dedicated volunteer waterlily team, we planted our tropical waterlilies into the Virtue Peace Pond.  Included in the collection this year are brand new hybrids entered in the 2010 IWGS New Waterlily Competition.  This year's contest promises to be a great one, with over 25 new hybrids (hardy, tropical, day-blooming,  and night-blooming) competing for the title of "Best New Waterlily of 2010".

We are currently working on our interpretive sign and voting system in order for visitors to the Gardens to choose their own favorite hybrids.  The official IWGS judging will take place in August - those results will be available at iwgs.org.  I will post more details for the public voting as we get the system in place in the next couple of weeks.

Visit now to see our collection of lotus in bloom, as well as hardy waterlilies in our collection and in this year's contest.  I've included photos of just a few of the contest hardies that are currently in bloom.   

Also, keep an eye on our Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid' - it was planted today in the Virtue Peace Pond.  The leaves currently measure about 12" across, but will quickly grow to over 5' in diameter this summer.  We will have more information about this amazing tropical waterlily on an interpretive sign located pond-side.