Lou Belloisy Connecticut USA Text & Photos by Lou Belloisy Click images to enlarge

My interests in water gardening go back many years. How many? Well, I bought my first waterlily from the "The Three Springs Nursery", now known as Lilypons, so that might give you an idea. My passion is the tropical lily. I am in awe of its beauty, grace and many different colors.

I live in the northwest corner of Connecticut, USA, on Bantam Lake, which is the state's largest natural lake at 1000 acres. I have lived here for 20 years and every day is a special treat. There is always something going on, such as sailboat races and in the winter ice boat races. I am fortunate to live only 60 feet from the waters edge, on the east side where I can see the sunsets every night. I use the lake water for all my outside needs, watering the grass, washing the car, doing water changes in the ponds. I do about a 10 percent water change every day, all automatically.

Our summer growing seasons are usually only about 2 ½ months, so it's a race to get the plants out into the pond from the greenhouses. My little greenhouses are really part of the house. They were originally designed to be sunrooms, but the gardener in me took over and the nice furniture went into storage.

I have designed an elaborate heating system that will bring the pond (5000 gallons) up to a comfortable temp for the plants and fish thus giving them a head start. I also grow tropical hibiscus and during the winter they share the rooms with the overwintering lilies.

(Click here for the complete story of Lou's greenhouses, more pictures and details of his setup.)

I am a professional helicopter pilot for a local ABC affiliate TV station. The aircraft that we fly is a multi-million dollar flying television station. We have the capabilities of broadcasting live from any point in the state. Unfortunately our coverage is of untimely events and disasters.

I have been flying professionally for over thirty years and in that time have had the privilege of flying many different types of aircraft. I am typed and current in the following: single and multi engine piston and jet aircraft, piston and jet helicopters, and seaplanes. I have tried balloons and gliders and to be honest the lack of engine noise is disconcerting. I have extensive experience in crop dusting, student training, aerial photography, corporate travel and medical transportation.

My other passion is photography, especially now, digital. I have been taking and developing photos since I was 10 years old. I have three digital cameras and each one will render a color a little differently. I particularly enjoy doing close-up studies of waterlily flowers and have been asked to share my techniques for photographing them here.

Over the years I have tried to propagate tropicals with encouraging but limited success. I am a total novice at the cross pollinating procedure but this year (2002) crossed 'Star of Siam' and 'Jack Wood'. I did this cross in a greenhouse and bagged the flowers immediately so I know no bugs were involved. The results are:

'Raspberry Sorbet'	'Blue Mist'	'Rose Delight'

My love of helicopters, photography and tropical lilies come together neatly to form a marriage of life-long interests.