Photography by John Michael

I returned to the gardens and because of the warm weather, the tropicals were still much in bloom and growing. Despite the other ponds being stripped of their vegetation (the Lotus ponds were BARE … what had been waving “elephant ear” leaves and seed pods was now short “stumps” poking out of the mud, since these ponds were drained)

Alas, my quest that I had been in pursuit of the last time I had visited, was going through it’s changes. The exterior of the bud, the size of a football (or a coconut still in its husk) had peeled away to reveal the snow white bud still tight. Now the flower was open and the center lines of the petals were pink. Another flower had totally turned nearly red in color signifying it’s end of cycle of the two day blooming.

Victorias are “night bloomers” so one must get to them before the midday sun forces the bloom to close its petals.

Enjoy the photos…