Blooming Water Lilies

What a great morning, nothing like waking up & walking out to feed the koi first thing in the morning, then when you come up on the pond you see two water lilies blooming. I absolutely love lilies, the pads themself I think are just so cool, but then you add what might be one of the most magnificant flowers you will ever see and whats not to love! I'm not sure the exact type of my lilies-I have 5 and want to add more-I believe the White one is a Hardy Lily, a "Queen White", and the purple one is a Tropical, I believe a "Shirley Bryne".

I got them and most of my plants at Sunland Watergardens, who I consider #1 in the LA metro area for pond plants, and believe me I have driven to more then a few all around town. They also run a great little shack of a shop there that sells anything and everything you will need to build your own pond! Great Help and a fun place to just go! They must have like 5 ponds, tons of turtles, Koi galore, and more pond plants then anyplace I ever seen, covering at least a acre!

Getting back to my lilies, I wish the turtles didnt love chumping down on them as snacks, otherwise I think I would get twice to three times as many! There nothing worse then watching a flower shoot out of the base of one of your lilies slowly growing toward the surface, then one day a inch or so before it reaches the surface and gets to bloom, a turtle comes up and takes it out as a snack! :-( Happy Turtles, Sad Me! lol

Some Fun Lilies Facts (from)
http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Wetlands/WaterLilies/WaterLily.html

Water lilies were once used in ancient Egyptian art.

The largest water lily is the Giant Water Lily. It can be found in the Amazon. It can grow to be 2 feet to 6 feet in diameter. It provides food for fish and wildlife. The only problem is that it causes drainage problems because of its large size.

The swamp lily is a breed of water lily. It reproduces and grows just as the water lily does. The only difference is that it grows in swamps.

The Yellow Lily's roots are sometimes eaten. White Lily's roots are used to treat sore mouths. The smoke from some lilies burning roots has been used to repel insects.

Claude Monet painted many paintings of water lilies. He got the idea because he had a water garden and enjoyed the plants' beauty and difference.

The lotus is a plant that is similar to the water lily. The lotus has leaves that float above the surface and is held above the water on long stalks. The lotus is a plant group made up of mainly herbs and subshrubs.