Languorous Water Lilies: Re: Re: Langorous?

» Carol Wallace - Re: Re: Langorous?

In response to message posted by Audreydee:
Longwood has some amazing water lilies. Did you see the giant Victoria lily pads that are large enough for a human to stand on? Longwood is only two hours from here, but just enough warmer that they can grow that one and I can't - which is just as well since it would take only a few lily pads to fill my pond.

We had someone come in with a backhoe to dig ours. And at first the size was not a blessing as it seemed we would go broke affording enough water plants to afford the needed coverage. With a fake pond you need to grow them in pots, which also seems to restrict their size. But then I got the bright idea of adding soil to the pond bottom and letting them grow in that - and now they are almost like weeds, constantly needing to be thinned out.

People with new ponds ought to seek out those with established ponds, who may be glad to share their bounty. Otherwise these plants can be expensive. But they are also so ovely.

I've seen old, old photos of the Victoria water lily pads I mentioned, with a minister standing on one in the middle of a pond and a bridal couple on the other. Quite amazing.

-- posted by Carol Wallace