A Dazzling Return: Our Waterlily Court

Our newly enhanced Waterlily Court is an aquatic showcase like no other—and it’s making its much-anticipated debut on May 9, marking the completion of Longwood Reimagined. As we excitedly prepare for its debut, we share with you a sneak peek at what you can soon experience in this beloved, masterfully curated space known for its diverse aquatic plants from around the globe and hybrids developed here at Longwood. Plus, we share where else in our Gardens you can enjoy aquatic gems for the very first time in our Gardens this summer. It’s a debut you don’t want to miss. 

Originally opened in 1957 and re-envisioned by famed landscape architect Sir Peter Shepheard in 1989, our beloved Waterlily Court soon returns with updated infrastructure and with Shepheard’s vision beautifully honored. Redefined as an outdoor room, the elegant Waterlily Court has been further strengthened as a central destination and gateway to the new West Conservatory. Here you’ll find new granite tiles and tiered steps into the space, artfully adorned with planted containers that further elevate its beauty. Numerous improvements to the Waterlily Court’s infrastructure have also been made, including new plumbing to improve the water circulation, enhance controls, and increase the water quality in its six pools. We improved the water heating capacity to further support plant health and added new lighting to help illuminate the intricacy of our aquatic plants’ beauty. 

Here, in six beautifully adorned pools, we seasonally showcase nearly 100 varieties of hardy and tropical waterlily specimens from around the world. This vibrant, seasonal display is a true testament of how varied, and vast, our waterlily (Nymphaea) collection is, with emphasis on the beauty and unique identity of each plant. Accredited as one of the best waterlily collections in the United States by the Plant Collections Network, our diverse collection consists of some of the finest tropical and hardy waterlily hybrids produced by the most noteworthy breeders—and the Waterlily Court is a true celebration of the depth of our collection. 

Among the tropical aquatics to enjoy upon the Waterlily Court’s May 9 debut is Nymphaea ‘Foxfire’, with large, variegated leaves and multi-petaled flowers, as well as Nymphaea caerulea, a blue lotus waterlily native to Egypt, and the Longwood hybrid Nymphaea ‘Antares’. 

Tropical aquatics new to the display this year include Nymphaea ‘Peppermint Splash’ with its pink and white speckled flowers, as well as Nymphaea ‘Betty Lou’, with beautiful, large purple flowers. New-this-year hardy aquatics in the Waterlily Court include the striking Nymphaea ‘Myra’ with large pink and white multi-petaled flowers, as well as Nymphaea ‘Golden Gate’, featuring cup-shaped peach-hued flowers that stand above the water level. You’ll also find Colocasia esculenta ‘Lemon-Lime Gecko,’ with its eye-catching green and chartreuse variegated leaves, along with the water banana plant (Typhonodorum lindleyanum), a tall aroid native to Madagascar with large, arrow-shaped green leaves.

As in prior years, our verdant Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’ water-platters will be on view in the Waterlily Court pools starting in late May. These spectacular aquatic plants—some with leaves as large as 6 feet across—gracefully drift in the pools during the warm-weather months. Steeped in folklore and first encountered by Europeans in South America in the early 1800s, Victoria water-platters are renowned for their immense size, an awe-inspiring feature.

Longwood is a leader in the field of growing and displaying water-platters in a public garden setting. Beginning in the 1950s, we began growing Victoria amazonica, native to Guyana and the Amazon River basin, and Victoria cruziana, native to the Panama River in northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. A hybrid cross between Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziana called 'Longwood Hybrid' was developed here by Waterlily Hall of Fame inductee and Longwood staff member Patrick Nutt in 1960 and first flowered at Longwood in 1961. 

Although Victoria water-platters are perennial plants native to South America, in our climate they are treated as annuals and complete their entire life cycle in less than one year. Each year, our aquatic experts hand-pollinate the flowers to generate a new crop of seeds for the next season’s display, as well as distribute seeds to horticultural institutions around the world ... resulting in not only the sharing of seed that is not readily available commercially, but allowing for even more public garden visitors worldwide to experience the beauty of Victoria. You can experience these beauties here at Longwood beginning in late May and throughout the summer.

Starting in late May, our Waterlily Court will also showcase the resulting beauty of our ever-evolving plant exploration program, which supports a network of plant conservation and research programs around the world and helps contribute to displays here at Longwood. While our plant exploration efforts span the globe, recent intensive work in Tanzania has been a priority as we seek to expand our conservation efforts into the tropics, impact international conservation efforts, and add to our orchid and waterlily collections. 

In support of our efforts, Longwood’s Director of Conservation Horticulture & Collections Peter Zale, Ph.D. has traveled to Tanzania three times since 2023. Recently, Zale has been working closely with our partners in Tanzania to survey one of three waterlilies found in the wild there—Nymphaea stuhlmannii.

Endemic to a 20-square-mile area in central Tanzania, Nymphaea stuhlmannii is very rare in the wild, and must contend with several factors for survival—from much of its natural habitat being converted to rice plantations, to hippos and elephants being known to graze on its foliage. This species has not been in cultivation for more than 100 years—but, through our plant exploration program and work with our partners, we have been able to import its tubers to Longwood. Using these tubers, we've learned its cultural requirements and used flowering plants to successfully hand-pollinate the flowers to produce seeds; the seeds can later be germinated to produce new plants—all to help conserve Nymphaea stuhlmanniii. 

Now, the luminous yellow blooms of Nymphaea stuhlmannii are now not only found in central Tanzania—they can be enjoyed in our very own Waterlily Court, while their seeds reside in our conservation seedbank as we work to conserve them for generations to come. 

Looking for even more aquatics in our Gardens? You can find them for the very first time this summer in our new West Conservatory, both indoors and out, and planted in the style of a naturalistic aquatic landscape. Drifts of aquatic plants in the West Conservatory’s interior waterways continue out to the southernmost exterior canal of the West Conservatory, nearest the Main Fountain Garden. 

Inside, you’ll find Australian water-clover (Marsilea mutica), which looks like a floating four-leaf clover but is actually a fern. Come June, it will be joined by Ludiwigia sedioides, or the mosaic plant, which creates interesting patterns on the water’s surface.

If you’re visiting during the evening hours, starting in June, don’t miss the night-blooming, tropical Nymphaea ‘Trudy Slocum’ inside the West Conservatory, with its luminous white blooms and emerald green lily pads. Evening guests also have much to behold with our tropical varieties in the Waterlily Court—including Nymphaea‘ Trudy Slocum’ there as well. 

Just outside, on the southernmost side of the West Conservatory, find a beautifully designed aquatic landscape of more than 10 varieties—and 200 individual plants— of hardy waterlilies in shades of yellow, white, and pink. As with all hardy waterlilies, these plants are day-blooming, so if you’d like to see their pastel hues, you’ll want to do so before nightfall. Highlights include Nymphaea ‘Laydeckeri fulgens’, known for its abundant, vivid red-tones blooms; Nymphaea ‘Sioux’ whose flowers shift from yellow to peach to copper; and Nymphaea ‘Colorado’ with its warm peach-to-salmon blossoms—among many others. 

From the much-anticipated debut of our Waterlily Court, showcasing the diversity of individual hardy and tropical varieties, followed by the arrival of Victoria in the months ahead, to—just steps away—the West Conservatory’s waterways painted with an aquatic landscape, still waters run deep this summer. Come experience the beauty of aquatic plants—and a masterful debut. 

Editor’s note: Explore our newly enhanced Waterlily Court and take a close look at its aquatic treasures with our Wonders of the Waterlily Talks, included with Gardens Admission and offered during select daytime and evening hours throughout the summer.