You are here

Home  /  Gardens

Waterlily Display

About this Outdoor Garden

Our Waterlily Display is now closed for the season. It will reopen late May, 2020.

A highlight of our summer display, massive water-platters and more than 100 types of colorful day- and night-blooming hardy and tropical waterlilies put on a spectacular show. 

Tucked into a protected courtyard (accessed via the Conservatory), this stunning outdoor Garden features aquatic plants from all over the world. The Garden is normally open from late May through mid-October. Peak bloom occurs mid-July through September (depending on weather).

History of the Garden

Tropical aquatics came to Longwood in 1957 with the opening of a 13-pool Waterlily Display. In 1989 the display was redesigned by Sir Peter Shepheard into five larger, dramatic pools.

Bloom Highlights

American Wisteria

Wisteria frutescens is native vine that can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as New England. The origin of the plant at Longwood is not known, but after many years of cultivation it proved to be a stellar performer reliably producing outstanding flowers of darker and richer hue than typical forms, which led to its designation as a cultivar with a name ‘Longwood Purple’. More restrained and easier to maintain than other varieties of wisteria, ‘Longwood Purple’ is also extremely cold hardy and can adjust to a wide climatic range. It can handle sandy to loamy soils and part to full sun. As a modestly fast growing vine, ‘Longwood Purple’ can be easily trained onto a trellis, against a wall or porch.  

Explore Plants In This Garden