A Walk Among Waterlilies

Waterlily enthusiasts experienced walking among the waterlilies at the Naples Botanical Garden on Friday, May 23. If you want to be closer to a Hardy or Tropical Waterlily, this was a must-do event. It required stepping down into the Water Garden and wading through two feet of water while slowly walking around clusters of blooming waterlilies.

It was a magical experience as the participants took photo suggestions from Kaitlyn Handley on how to best use their smartphones. Handley said that this program, based off of the Garden’s nature photography tour offered every other month in season, was adjusted to fit this event. Handley is the Curator of Education for the Garden and developed this event. The first “Walk Among the Waterlilies” was sold out. If you missed the May event, it is being offered again on June 7th and July 11th.

Matt Herrman has been the Curator of Special Collections for the past few years and manages both the aquatic as well as the tropical fruit and edible plant collections for the Garden. “We have an amazing collection of tropical waterlilies from around the world, and today everyone will have the chance to be closer to these tropical beauties and capture the fine details, which are difficult to see from the boardwalk,” Herrman said.

Herrman explained that the Water Garden is unique, as the waterlilies are grown from the bottom of the pond, while the upper pond at the Brazilian Garden is grown in pots. “As you step into the pond, there is a layer of gravel on top, a fabric liner below that, and a layer of compost at the very bottom,” Herrman cautioned. “The waterlilies are planted by cutting through the fabric liner and into the layer of compost. This pond produces stunning and larger specimens of tropical waterlilies,” he said.

“Go slowly,” Herrman said, “and sort of shuffle your way. There are no koi fish as they are not known to be friendly with waterlilies; rather, the pond is stocked with mosquito fish.” Herrman led the way, providing bits of information on the tropical waterlilies.

Coming up is a week-long celebration of waterlilies in August, where there is a weigh-off with the Victoria waterlilies to see how much weight can be put on the lily pad. Last year, the Garden came in second place, according to Mary Helen Reuter, Director of Education and Interpretation for the Garden.

On a personal note, as I waded through the tropical waterlily collection, I was drawn to the purple color. These tropical waterlilies were in the middle of the pond, and it would have been nearly impossible to enjoy the details of their beauty from the boardwalk. These lilies were especially noticeable:

• Midnight Serenade with its purple flower and yellow center. It stood out with its green pad with purple mottling.
• Star of Zanzibar has shades of amethyst with beautifully mottled pads.
• Wood’s Blue Goddess is stunning with petals as close to a true blue as you can find in a tropical waterlily with black stamens.

According to Herrman, tropical waterlilies come in just about every color from hot pink, orange, bright purple, to blue. They also have unique shapes with starburst petals, and some stems towering over the others. In addition, the lily pads come in round, serrated edges - some with burgundy to mottled chartreuse and purple. Some of them bloom at night. The waterlilies at this pond produce lots of flowers and are large; you might notice a sweet fragrance depending on the time of day. Most tropical waterlilies bloom during the day, and a few are night-blooming tropical.

Waterlilies (Nymphaeaceae) are a family of freshwater flower plants resembling mythical water nymphs. Waterlilies have long been a source of spiritual significance. In Buddhism, it is seen as a sign of enlightenment because the flowers arise out of the mud. According to Matt, summer is the best time to come and view the waterlily collection at the Garden.