Waterlily Weekend a Big Winner at the Garden

The two-day Waterlily Weekend festival on August 29 and 30, at the Naples Botanical Garden, celebrated the Garden’s collection of nearly 300 specimens displayed throughout its aquatic gardens.

Returning this year by popular demand was the Walk Among the Waterlilies program, an immersive experience with participants stepping down into the aquatic ponds and slowly wading through the various blooming waterlilies.

At first, there was some hesitancy about stepping onto a murky pond – what’s down there? And yes, you might encounter frogs or fish, but this adds to the anticipation and soon, the entire group forgot they were shuffling through a waterlily pond.

The walk was guided by Matt Herrman, the Garden’s curator of special collections and assisted by numerous garden staff – making sure you get up close to enjoy the waterlilies. Before the pond experience, the group had a crash course in macro photography using iPhones.

Waterlilies are popular subjects for photographers and morning is the suggested best time to capture these stunning aquatic flowers. Their blooms only last for a couple of days and most aquatic bloomers don’t begin to open until mid-morning. An added bonus for the participants was the slightly overcast morning perfect for capturing the fully open waterlily flowers.

This weekend also showcased the Garden’s entry into the fourth annual Waterlily Weigh-Off. This year’s competition included over 50 participants representing eight countries. It also added, for the first time, home gardeners and nurseries with a category of their own and a featherweight category.

The Waterlily Weigh-Off is organized each year by Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado and open to public gardens and zoos from around the world to weigh their lily pads with a variety of weights. The results of the 2026 Weigh-Off were announced on Friday, 28 August, and it started off as a fun and friendly way for botanical gardens and zoos from around the world to see whose Victoria waterlily pad/platter can carry the most weight! It is hard to believe that a delicate waterlily platter can support over 100 pounds. How do you do it?

Grow the biggest, strongest Victoria waterlily (they can grow up to 10 feet in diameter).

See how much weight the lily pad or platter can hold.

Post your entry on social media by a given date.

Fans all over the world anxiously waited for the 2026 heavyweight champion results as follows:

Bok Tower Gardens of Lake Wales, Florida, with a waterlily leaf holding an astonishing 285.7 pounds, wears the crown for 2026 and defended its 2025 heavyweight title.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (England) at 224.9 pounds.

Longwood Gardens (Pennsylvania, USA) at 210 pounds.

Naples Botanical Garden’s entry of a Victoria Longwood Hybrid peaked at 109 pounds and came in seventh in a field of 41 entries. The Victoria waterlily is used for the Weigh-Off competition due to its remarkable large platter size and buoyancy, which can support significant weight.