Water Lily & Lotus

In early August I visited the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens along the Anacostia river here in Washington DC. This is one of those hometown attractions that I have never seen. You know the type of place -- the one attraction in your home town that you have never visited but everyone else in the country has. (Now if I can only get to the Washington Monument some day, my life here will be complete.)

I heard it was the lotus blossom time, and after reading the post by John at DC Tropics, I decided to stop by.

It was an extremely hot humid Sunday. As I arrived upon opening time, a large bus of tourists from China just got dropped off, each with cameras setting up to get their prized shots. I meandered through the acres of lotus blossoms, trying to get photos without tourists in them. I soon learned there is no such thing as a bad shot of a lotus bloom.

There were three types of lotus, distinguished by size and shades of color. This was a difficult day to photograph. The sun was harsh and direct at noon. Here is what caught my eye (without the tourists.)

Looking down onto a darker pink species of lotus.

The darker pink lotus seems to open up more than the other.

The lighter pink lotus blossom.

Seed pods resemble showerheads.

Beautiful red cannas near the entry. (No, those are not the Chinese tourists on the left.)

There were three small ponds with several displays of water lilies.



I admired the variegated leaves on this water lily.