“Lily Pond”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
The water lily pond at the New Orleans Botanical Gardens was wonderful. I especially liked that they had added a black dye to the water. Having the dark water really set off the plants and the flowers. Pots and other usually less desireable sights are hidden from view by the darkened water, and the flowers really pop.
The dark water also seems to add depth. The pond appears so much deeper than it really is. The darker color also helps with algae growth.
My favorite plant in the water garden is the giant water liy, Victoria amazonica. These can get up to three feet across. I just think they are amazing.
Whenever I visit the Botanical Gardens and see this large pond, I always get a longing desire for a pond for my garden.
Always Growing 
deb said,
October 21, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I like the dark water too. I wonder if the dye is bad for fish?
Northern Shade said,
October 21, 2008 at 6:56 pm
The pond with water lilies looks great. The flowers themselves are so pretty, and the giant water lily leaves are fascinating. There is room for a whole frog family on one leaf.
Jan said,
October 21, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Deb, the dye is not harmful to plants, fish, or anything that lives in a pond, or humans. I think it is vegetable based.
NS, you are right that a whole frog clan could sit on one of those lily pads.
Mary Beth said,
October 21, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I once saw a gardening show that highlighted a woman who grew those giant lily pads in her pool/pond. They were like 3 feet across! Thanks for the botanical name so I can research them. Wonder how they’d do in our resaca (our name for “Bayou”)
nawlinsdawlin said,
October 22, 2008 at 3:21 am
I would have to agree Jan… and the water lilies are so big it appeared as if you could walk on them.
Jan said,
October 22, 2008 at 4:29 am
Mary Beth, I know these are originally from the Amazon, but if they grow here, they probably grow where you are. They probably have to be lifted out of the pond in the winter like the tropical water lilies, but I think it would be worth it.
Nawlisdawlin, I remember reading about these in geography class in elementary school. The book stated that one of these lily pads could support a human (didn’t say what size human), so maybe they could be used as water stepping “stones”.
tina said,
October 22, 2008 at 6:00 am
Those are way cool! I also like that black dye and even like black liners on pools and ponds.
Randy said,
October 22, 2008 at 6:44 am
Jan,
I say if you want a pond, go for it! You seem to have a pretty larger garden from the photos I’ve seen. 🙂
Racquel said,
October 22, 2008 at 9:01 am
I like the dark color of the water, it really sets off those colorful beauties. Those lily pads are huge & beautiful in their own right.
Jan said,
October 23, 2008 at 4:40 am
Tina, the darker water really does look nice.
Randy, the only thing stopping me is the amount of pine trees we have. I think I would have to spend too much time cleaning the pond. Maybe when I retire and have more time, until them I think I just have to dream.
Racquel, the whole setting was lovely. Everything just seemed to work together well.
Jean said,
October 23, 2008 at 7:07 am
Jan, thanks for the last couple of postings about the Garden Show. Everything looks great. And what a neat idea for the pond. I know that keeping algae at bay is a challenge when we have so much sunlight. So neat trick.And I guess those giant water lilies would shield the water fairly well too!
Jean
Lzyjo said,
October 23, 2008 at 11:43 am
Beautiful photos! I never know how that did that! I always though the water at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden looked impossibly murky.
Jan said,
October 24, 2008 at 3:45 am
Jean, I have a few more photos of the Garden Show, but they will have to wait until we set up our new computer. The old one finally crashed Wednesday. Thank goodness all my pictures were backed up, so I can do a few more posts on the show. The dye in the water does make the pond look better, doesn’t it?
Lzyjo, I found out about the dye from an article I read a few months back. I had seen several public ponds that seemed so deep and mysterious with the dark water but never realized why they looked that way until I read about the dye used. There are other colors besides black, too, that would be suitable for other less formal ponds.
inadvertentgardener said,
December 5, 2008 at 8:14 am
You’re right, Jan — the gardens are looking amazing! This pond is great — I had no idea about adding vegetable dye to pond water to help enhance the reflections and keep the colors popping, but it definitely works. And those are some of the biggest lily pads I’ve ever seen. Thanks for pointing out these posts to me!