Tropical Waterlily

Tropical Waterlily
Nymphaea
(NIM-fee-uh)

Here are two different tropical water lilies that were blooming in two different places. The pink one was at in the outdoor lily pond at The Kampong in Coconut Grove, Florida. It was our first visit to this public garden and it is really a spectacular place. In some ways it is almost the perfect Florida estate to me (only missing a swimming pool). With a large house and lot, deep water anchorage, water views and a super plant collection it pretty much sums up everything you would want to enjoy the southern Florida lifestyle. If you read the linked Wikipedia article you will see that it was the home of Dr. David Fairchild who among other things was responsible for introducing around 30,000 different plant species to the United States. I would recommend a visit to Kampong if you are in the area. This picture was shot across the pond with my new 80-200mm/2.8 lens. It was mounted on my back up camera a Nikon D70s giving an effective focal range of 300mm.


The second Nymphaea photo was taken last week in the water garden room at the New York Botanical Garden. It was nice to see them blooming indoors. The large Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) over the water was blooming and dropping its unusually colored and shaped flowers in the water. I don’t care for the more washed out color in this cultivar (compared to the first photo) but there was something calming and delicate about it.

For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers .

Since it is Sunday here is a bonus flower. It is just one of the Hosta types from the estate’s gardens. The leaves are plain green and unremarkable but the flowers are nice with the touch of purple and fragrance.


Hosta
(HOSS-tuh)