Tuesday 20 July 2021

Kew Gardens: The Waterlily House

 One of the striking sights at Kew (among many) are the giant lilies in the Waterlily house. There are lilies on an outside pond there too: 


But the lilies in the Waterlily House are of a different scale altogether. Growing in a circular indoor pond, they are feet across, with raised rims like giant dinner plates. Amongst these Brobdingnagian leaves, flowers bloom, in a rich, humid and tropical atmosphere that adds to the overall effect of being inside a fairy story. Discovered in Bolivia in 1801, these Victoria Cruziana have been a source of wonder to successive generations of visitors. Here in their UK home they are free to attain their full size and to flower. 





Follow the links for my other Kew posts:

Strelitzia plants

Vistas at Kew

The Hive at Kew

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