Water lily to grace my new pond
June 22, 2009
The first bud on my new ‘Colorado’ water lily opened this morning, the day after I bought it at Hill Country Water Gardens‘ “Night at the Ponds” event and sale (click here for Gardening at Draco’s post about the pond event).
Isn’t it a beauty?
Now you might be wondering how I finished my stock-tank pond so quickly, right after my confession that the tank is still upside-down like a silver bandstand in the center of the circle garden.
Umm, well, there you have it. The water lily is crammed into a Tubtrug on the upper patio, wondering what the heck is going on.
I promise I’ll get that tank-pond finished soon, baby!
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Pam, It’s an absolutely beautiful water lily no matter where it blooms! It’s too hot to work outside…and the lily really looks very happy. I love the tubtrugs. gail
What a beauty! She seems happy swimming in her little tub–I would leave her alone. Triple digit temps are treacherous–don’t take a chance getting heat stroke.
Give them water and they grow anywhere. That is a very nice plant and beautiful flower. Enjoy!
She’s look good in there. All nice and cozy. She can wait for the big pond.
What a gorgeous lily! Pam, if your yard weren’t on ledge and caliche, would you be putting the pond in-ground? Just wondering the pros and cons. I want a water feature!
Hi, Chris. No, I just love stock tanks and happen to think they make nifty ponds. Also, a raised pond puts the plants and fish up higher where you can see them more easily, plus it’s safer when you have little kids around (although since there’s already a swimming pool in my yard, that’s not really an issue for me). I had a smaller-diameter stock-tank pond in my old garden, and I’m going bigger in the new garden. —Pam
Ha! So, are you putting on shows on top of that tank these days? I feel for you. I’m a little relieved to not have a major project in the works. My only goal right now is to get through my watering every day and try to everything weeded by the time company comes July 2nd. Ugh. And, BTW – YOU are the one who “gave me permission” last year not to keep planting in the middle of summer, because I sure used to — no more!
It would be a sizzling spot to lie out in the sun, if anyone were inclined to do so. 🙂 Now that I have the water lily, I hope it will light a fire under me to get the rock work done that needs doing before the pond can be set up. We shall see. Good luck with the watering. It’s hot and dry out there! —Pam
Ah, all good things take time. The water lily does look great in the tubtrug and it’s summer, so take it easy ;->
When I came to your blog and saw that spectacular pink blossom staring at me, I gasped and whined “Why can’t I have one of those?”. Then I saw the next photo, with which you are so tempting me to just stick a bucket somewhere and put one those beauties in it. Now I am going to read more about the Tubtrug.
Don’t you just love the Tubtrugs? (I am not being paid to say this)…I have a couple and wish I had more. I’ve bought them for my gardening friends too. Love’em…and I love that water lily too!
I love the color of the Colorado….maybe your tubtrug will start a new trend….can’t wait to see the real water garden!
What a gorgeous color! Look forward to seeing it in its’ new pond. 🙂
What a beautiful color of bloom. This beauty will be so happy when it can stretch out in its new home. You will have to explain to it that you can’t depend on the contractors whims of working when they want to. tee hee…
Pam,
I was just about to say, how in the world did she finish that pond so fast! It’s a beautiful lily.
Makes me miss our pond and water lilies at the old house. Not enough to move back, though. Be careful in this heat. Just getting the watering done is enough for me, right now.
Hey Pam – well you sure picked a beauty! I was also at the Hill Country Water Gardens event on Saturday night. What a show. Also inspired me more to put in a water garden – although something more above ground than below. I guess I’m just not up to dealing with digging in my yard and hitting rock. I’d love to put in a raised water garden with lillies, turtles and leopard frogs and some sort of fountain. How awesome would that be to hear the frogs at night….
Hmmmm, makes me think – my crabby neighbor has already complained at my dogs that bark once in a blue moon – guess he’d probably complain about frog sounds!
My former neighbor put in a wonderful water feature with a waterfall, and it attracted lots of croaking frogs. I loved hearing them on summer nights. Maybe your neighbor will too—you never know! —Pam
I can hardly wait for your stock tank to get set up. Until I tuned into your blog, I’d never thought of an above-ground stock tank as a home water feature. We’re in limestone hills too. A couple of years ago we pickaxed a 5-foot-across hole (levering out small boulders in the process) as the base pond for a rock waterfall. The waterfall is wonderful, the best birthday present I ever got. But my husband says we’re never excavating again…I don’t know how old he’d have to be to forget that experience…or whether he’d still be able to pickax at an advanced age…but now I can think about a cool above-ground option.
Are you going to put a small rock island in it somewhere for birds to bathe?
Hi, Kathleen. Yes, I do plan to build up a rock bathing platform for the birds. But ultimately I want to install a smaller water feature made of stone with a flat top and a bubbler pump—that one will be for attracting birds. —Pam
What a ethereal color for your water lily. Yes, I wondered how your pond got completed so fast.
The water lily looks like it is enjoying its temporary home.
Anyone else tweet? http://twitter.terragarden
Love that color; it is gorgeous.
Jan
Always Growing
Gorgeous! I love that colour, it looks salmon pink from the photo. I applaud you for ‘fessing up to the temporary tub, you could have easily had us imagining the perfection of being already in the pond the day after buying it. But I’m glad to know I’m not the only one struggling to keep up at times, especially after attending plant sales. 🙂
Gorgeous water lily! We have a big ceramic pot in the driveway border where we usually put a mini waterlily (Helvola) but she seems to have died. So I just have a big container full of water that is about to become a mosquito factory. The only good thing about our sudden very hot weather is that our water lilies are putting on a major show — 24 blooming in the pond yesterday; probably a record. I went out to see them up close and personal but then dashed back into the cool indoors! Enjoy your lily up close.
I’m sorry about your ‘Helvola,’ Linda. I have one of those in the smaller stock-tank pond in my old garden (still mine to care for, alas), and I plan to divide it and bring it over to the new pond when I get it set up. —Pam
Those tubtrugs are so handy. (I just with I hadn’t broken the handles on mine.) I can understand your decision to get the Waterlily before the pond is ready to accomodate it. It’s lovely.
I love that Colorado water lily … oh, to have multiple ponds so I could grow it. Hey, wait a minute, I’ve been wanting a stock tank anyway … hot damn, thanks for the idea, Pam!
I got the idea from the Wildflower Center, Cindy. I look forward to seeing one in your lovely garden one day. —Pam
I am so sorry I missed you at the pond night. It looks like you scored a beauty though.
Did you happen to see a new Agastache they had, called Something Sunset or Sunrise? That was my target for the night but we were with another couple,[non gardeners] and in their vehicle. I thought better of trying to transport a big plant in their vehicle. We did get a couple of fish to replace some a snake ate. Hope to meet some day, Bob
Was it ‘Desert Sunrise’? That’s one I received as a prize from High Country Gardens. It hasn’t started blooming yet in my garden. I’ll do an update on my agastache trials soon. —Pam
Have you talked about winter care for the tropical water lilies? Do they stay in the pond/tank or do you need to lift them?
I’ve just been sticking with the temperate lilies so far in Phoenix, but I love the electric colors of the tropicals!
I don’t bother with the tropical water lilies, Jenn, because I’m not into bringing plants indoors in the winter. ‘Colorado’ is a hardy one. Like you, I do love the tropical colors though, and it would be cool to have a night-blooming water lily. —Pam
Um, excuse me, Pam, but that Colorado water lily belongs in Colorado, for instance at my house? What a stunner. Those tubtrugs come in handy for lots of things, don’t they? Love it!
hello’ ,my name is rosaliz from puerto rico ,your lillies’colorado’ is so expectacular, beautiful ,I have in my patio a pond with lillies’nimphaea’open in night, one white,and one red,and 2 what open in day one color salmon,and the other is a viviparo, famous isla morada’the color is purple with white dots .with fishes guppys and turtle and pleco.I ‘ll send you photos later