August Walking Tour - Water Gardens

August is the perfect month to take a walk around the water gardens to see our aquatic plants in their full glory.  

Hardy and Tropical

Begin your stroll at the small pool in the Ellipse garden, home to the Chihuly sculpture Colorado. Hardy and tropical waterlilies (Nymphaea cultivars) including ‘Wanvisa’, ‘Manee Red’, ‘Laydekeri Fulgens’, ‘Joey Tomocik’, ‘Afterglow’ and ‘Stan Skinger.’ Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’ and Canna ‘Chiquita Punch’ are also displayed in this pond.

Australian

Next, head west to the Romantic Gardens pool, where you will find a display of Australian waterlilies. These waterlilies are a bit more finicky and require very warm water and sunny days to thrive. Cultivars displayed in this pond include ‘Betty Lou’, ‘Tuonta’ and ‘BPISG 1202’. A color-changing species, Nymphaea atrans, rounds out the display and showcases flowers that change from pale violet on the first day of bloom to dark pink as the flower ages. A pair of water platters (Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’) surround a recirculating pottery fountain in the center of this pond.

Hardy, Tropical and Intersubgeneric

Continuing to the west, you will find the Four Towers Pool. This pond borders the south and west sides of the Science Pyramid and showcases a collection of hardy intersubgeneric waterlilies (crosses between hardy and tropical waterlilies that have proven to be winter hardy here in Denver) as well as hardy waterlilies, tropical waterlilies and an assortment of marginal plants (plants that grow in shallow water around the margins of a pond) including Canna ‘Blueberry Sparkler’, red stemmed thalia (Thalia geniculata f. rheumoides), swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus ‘Berry Awesome’ and ‘Heartthrob’), dwarf papyrus (Cyperus prolifer) and golden sweetflag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’). Water platters (Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’) grown from seed each spring in our greenhouse complete this display.

Before you continue west, peek at El Pomar Waterway to the east of the Science Pyramid. This summer, this long, shallow canal is planted with a repeating pattern of Egyptian papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), tropical star waterlilies (Nymphaea ‘Rhonda Kay’) and mosaic plant (Ludwigia sedioides). The latter is a South American native that thrives in warm water, making this canal the ideal spot for it to show off its intricate pattern of tiny floating leaves arranged in a mosaic pattern on the water’s surface.

Legacy

The next pond on our tour can be found at the west end of the Steppe Garden just as you enter the Annuals Garden. This pool is home to the Rocky Mountain Legacy Collection – waterlilies that have been tested for performance at the Gardens over the years and have historical significance. This collection includes the hardy waterlilies ‘Colorado’, ‘Denver’, ‘Denver’s Delight’, ‘Joey Tomocik’, ‘Bea Taplin’, ‘Attorney Elrod’ and ‘Cynthia Ann’. Tropical waterlilies in the collection include ‘Stan Skinger’, ‘William McLane’ and ‘Bob Hoffman’.

Night Blooming

Continuing downstream, our Annuals Garden ponds feature a display of night-blooming tropical waterlilies this year including ‘Texas Shell Pink’, ‘Missouri’, ‘Red Flare’ and ‘Emily Grant Hutchings’. If you are visiting the gardens in the evening or early morning hours, you can find the blooms of these lilies fully open before they close for the day.

Monet Pool

North of our outdoor café, the Hive Garden Bistro, Monet Pool stretches north and west to the border of the Japanese Garden and is our largest display pond. This water garden features hundreds of hardy and tropical waterlilies, water-loving Canna hybrids, aquatic Iris and other marginal plants including pickerel plant (Pontederia cordata), lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus) and powdery thalia (Thalia dealbata). Stands of lotus (Nelumbo cultivars) are displayed throughout the pond as well. These begin blooming in mid-July and continue into August before dropping their petals to reveal showy, decorative seed pods.

Star Collection

The final stop on our tour is tucked along the west edge of Le Potager garden and showcases our star waterlily collection. These tropical day-bloomers are named for their stellate flowers and can be found in a beautiful range of colors. On display in this pond are the purple-flowered ‘Rhonda Kay’, ‘August Siebert’, which boasts pink flowers, and ‘Rhapsody in White’ with its mottled leaves and white flowers. A species cross (N. thermarum × N. gracilis) has a smaller growth habit with white blooms and is displayed at the north side of this pond. Hardy thalia (Thalia dealbata) takes center stage in a large water bowl on the pedestal in the center of the pool.