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.