August Walking Tour – Water Gardens

August is a great month to take a walk around the water gardens to see our aquatic plant collection in its full glory.  

• Begin your stroll at the small pool in the Ellipse garden – home to the Chihuly artwork Colorado. A unique plant displayed in this pond is mosaic plant (Ludwigia sedioides). This South American native thrives in warm water, making this pool 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. Hardy and tropical waterlilies (Nymphaea hybrids) such as ‘Ultra Violet’, ‘Carla’s Sonshine’, ‘Wanvisa’, ‘Albert Greenberg, ‘Laydekeri Fulgens’ and ‘Joey Tomocik’ along with Colocasia ‘Diamond Head’ and Canna ‘Chiquita Punch’ round out the display in this pond.
• Next, head west to the Romantic Gardens pool, where you will find a display of star waterlilies. These waterlilies are named for the shape of their blooms, which are stellate and held high above the water’s surface. One waterlily species, Nymphaea gracilis, has been used by hybridizers to create cultivars of star waterlilies with flowers in a rainbow of colors. N. gracilis is native to Mexico and has solid white blooms and green leaves. Cultivars displayed in this pond include the pink flowered ‘August Siebert’, ‘Rhapsody in White’, which boasts white blooms and mottled leaves, and ‘Rhonda Kay’, which rounds out the collection with purple flowers.
• Continuing to the west, you will find the Four Towers Pool, which borders the south and west sides of the Science Pyramid. Showcased is 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 typically grow in shallow water around the margins of a pond). These include Canna ‘Red Wine’, Canna ‘Belinda’, red-stemmed thalia (Thalia geniculata f. ruminoides), SUMMERIFIC® swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Berry Awesome’) and ROYAL HAWAIIAN® taro (Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Coral’). Entries in the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS) New Waterlily Competition are displayed closest to the sidewalk on the west side of this pond, and water platters (Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’) grown from seed in our greenhouse complete this display.
• The next pond on our walking tour can be found at the west end of the Steppe Garden just as you enter the Annuals Garden. This pool highlights the Rocky Mountain Legacy Collection – waterlilies that have been tested for performance at Denver Botanic Gardens over the years and which 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’.
• As you walk through the Annuals Garden, you will come to the ponds situated on either side of the walkway at the north side of this garden. The east pool boasts a collection of night-blooming tropical waterlilies including Nymphaea ‘Red Flare’, ‘Juno’, ‘Texas Shell Pink’ and ‘Rosa de la Noche’ while the pond on the west side is brimming with showy tropical waterlilies like ‘Doris Holt’, ‘Star of Zanzibar’, ‘Peach Twist’ and ‘Innocence’. Two Santa Cruz water platters (Victoria cruziana) make the perfect aquatic companions for the show-stopping annuals bordering this pond.
• North of Sacred Earth and the Hive Garden Bistro, Monet Pool stretches to the border of the Japanese Garden and is our largest display pond. This water garden features the always popular water platters (Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’ and Victoria cruziana) as well as hundreds of hardy and tropical waterlilies, water-loving Canna hybrids, aquatic Iris and other marginal plants like pickerel plant (Pontederia cordata), lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus), powdery thalia (Thalia dealbata) and common rush (Juncus effusus). Stands of lotus (Nelumbo cultivars) can be found 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.
• The final stop on our walking tour is the pond in Le Potager at the southwest end of Monet Pool. Here, hardy and tropical waterlilies in a rainbow of colors are paired with numerous Colocasia and Nelumbo cultivars to create a colorful display surrounding the bright and intricately patterned sculpture "Deer-Butterfly," part of the Spirit Guides exhibition.

Gallery photos by Tamara Kilbane