There is a time in late summer…just about now…that I anticipate all year long. It is so special that I mark it on my calendar — the water lily pond coming into bloom on an old former estate designed by the Olmsted Brothers. The pond is well sited and graciously large, receiving the full sun that is a necessary component of its success.
Each year the process begins anew, with the water lily and lotus tubers wintered over in the greenhouse. As summer approaches, the tubers and their growing medium are planted in tubs and positioned in the pond; their locations can vary from year to year. An aerator keeps the water well oxygenated and black carp eat the mosquito larvae.
These beauties, bearing the Latin name Nelumbo (for lotus), bloom in the morning and close after sunset.
If you love to dream about “possibilities,” surely these images have inspired you. So, I’m adding this link with basic information should you be thinking of creating your own lily pond.
NOTE: taking on a pond this large is not for the faint-hearted; it requires its own dedicated gardener.
If you visit Washington DC you should pay a visit to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. They are stunning in the late summer!
Betty…how fabulous!!
Would you be so kind to send instructions to my email on how to do this!! We are relocating to the southeast coast and I would love to have a pond like this on my property!! My friends claim I have “green hands” and can grow anything…. so I am the gardener to whom you refer.
I never knew the pods were in tubs beneath the water surface. This is just too AWESOME!!
How exciting that you’ll have a lily pond! There is a link in the last paragraph of this blog (If you love to dream about “possibilities,” surely these images have inspired you. So, I’m adding this link with basic information should you be thinking of creating your own lily pond).Click on the word
link” and it will take you to the information you are requesting…and a list of many other websites with instructions.
Enjoy!