By Kit & Ben Knotts
In trying to create a chronology of the development of ornamental water gardening, you will see that we had to explore many other topics which can't really be separated from the main one. This is described in more detail in our Short History of Water Gardening and the topics are often included in the Timeline as part of the overall frame of reference.
Many of the events listed below have links to interesting articles, most of which provide confirmation of the dates given, from sources we believe to be credible. Though some of these articles are within this website, many are not and will open in a new window. Close that window to return to this page. Links we have selected are as ad free as possible. We appreciate additions and corrections to this Timeline and to the History. We will also appreciate knowing if any of the links stop working. Write kit@victoria-adventure.org
| Earth's Geologic Timeline | |
| 125-115 million years BCE | Fossil water lily (Nymphaeale) flower from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian or Aptian) of Portugal - Images - Article |
| Fossil aquatic plant (Archaefructus sinensis, meaning "ancient fruit from China.") in China - Article | |
| Water lilies one of the most ancient angiosperm (flowering) plants - Article | |
| Nymphaeale fossil images | |
| 66 million years BCE | Water lilies and dinosaurs |
| 54.8-33.7 million years BCE | Fossil Nelumbo, Lower Eocene Epoch, in souteastern North America - Article |
| 45 million years BCE | Fossil Nymphaea is Middle Eocene - Abstract |
| 6000 BCE | The Garden of Eden? - Article |
| 5000 BCE | Lotus seeds in Hemudu, Zhejing Province, China - Article |
| 4000 BCE | Domestication of rice in Thailand |
| 3100 BCE - 1400 AD | Ancient Civilizations' Timeline |
| Timelines of Art History | |
| 3000-30 BCE | Ancient Egypt's Timeline |
| Nymphaea and Nelumbo evident in Egyptian art - Article | |
| Legends of the "Blue Lotus" (Nymphaea caerulea) in Egypt - Article | |
| Papyrus and "lotus" in Egypt - Article | |
| "Sacred White Lotus" (Nymphaea lotus) in Egypt - Article | |
| The Lotus and the Nile - Article | |
| 2950-2770 BCE | Hieroglyphics from First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt |
| 2800-1400BCE | Earliest planned gardens with ponds, Egypt - Article |
| From 2500 BCE | The lotus in Hinduism - Article |
| Lotus legends - Article | |
| 1500 BCE | First plant collecting expedition - Article |
| 1122-256 BCE | Shijing (The Book of Songs) mentioned lotus - Poem |
| 600 BCE | Ancient Indian University Nalanda, "giver of the lotus" - Article |
| From 521 BCE | Persian gardens with ponds and fountains - Article |
| Paradise Gardens - Article | |
| From 500 BCE | The lotus in Buddhism - Article |
| The Silk Road - Map | |
| About 450 BCE | Greek historian Herodotus wrote of Nelumbo in Egypt - Article |
| About 300 BCE |
Theophrastus wrote De historia plantarum
(A History of Plants) and De causis plantarum (About the Reasons of Vegetable Growth) |
| From 206 BCE | Imperial gardens of China, from the Han Dynasty - Article |
| Chinese gardens - Short history | |
| About 1 CE | Seeds of the "Ohga Lotus" in Japan - Article |
| 100 CE | Gardens of the Roman Empire - Article |
| From 100 | English gardens - Short history |
| From 400 | Japanese gardens - Article |
| 552 | Introduction of Buddhism into Japan - Timeline |
| 600 | The lotus in Japanese art - Article |
| Islamic conquest of Spain | |
| 800 | Nelumbo seeds from ancient Chinese lake viable - Article |
| From 1095 | Crusaders brought Islamic garden style to England - Article |
| 1338-1390 | The Alhambra built - Article |
| From 1380 | Renaissance gardens - Article |
| From 1400 | Traditional Japanese Gardens - Article |
| From 1493 | "Modern" Taxonomic Botany and Floristics - Article |
| 1548 | William Turner (1510-1568), “Father of English Botany” recognized the English white waterlily, later named Nymphaea alba L., in his book The Names of Herbes |
| 1631-1648 | Taj Mahal built - Article |
| From 1737 | The Golden Age of Botany |
| 1753 | Carl Linnaeus published Species Plantarum, in it naming Nymphaeas alba and lotus |
| From 1760 | Development of Kew Gardens - Article |
| 1786 | Nymphaea odorata, an American species, was introduced in England |
| 1792 | Francis Masson sent Nymphaea capensis, from South Africa, to Kew Gardens |
| From 1800 | Victorian Botany |
| 1801 | Tadeáš Haenke discovered Victoria in Bolivia |
| 1803 | Joseph Banks introduced to England Nymphaea rubra (synonym of N. pubescens) from India |
| 1805 | Nymphaea tetragona imported to England |
| 1819 | Aime Bonpland and Alexander von Humboldt saw Victoria near Corrientes, Argentina |
| 1824 | Augustin de Candolle described 26 species of Nymphaea in Prodomus Systematis Naturalis Regni-Vegetabilis, his treatise on systematic botany |
| 1832 | Eduard Poeppig found Victoria on the Amazon |
| 1837 | John Lindley established the genus Victoria and described the species regia from specimens and figures sent to Europe by Robert Schomburgk |
| 1849 | The first Victoria flowered in cultivation in a specially built greenhouse at the Duke of Devonshire's estate at Chatsworth, England. |
| W. Bidwell first saw Nymphaea gigantea | |
| 1850 | Botanists Jules-Emile Planchon, J.G.C. Lehmann and Robert Caspary begin research on Nymphaea |
| 1851 | Joseph Paxton designed the Crystal Palace for the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851 in London using the leaf of Victoria as inspiration |
| The First Hybrid Waterlilies | |
| Joseph Paxton claimed to have produced the first hybrid waterlily ((N. rubra x N. lotus) calling it N. ‘Devoniensis’. It was generally believed to be a self-pollination of N rubra. | |
| 1852 | An unquestioned hybrid waterlily of N. ortgiesiana x N. rubra named N. ‘Ortgiesiano-rubra’ was produced by Eduard Ortgies at Van Houtte Nurseries, Belgium. Article French - English |
| 1852-1853 | Carl David Bouché produced a hybrid waterlily, named by Planchon N. ‘Boucheana’, and numerous other hybrids. Article German - English |
| 1856 | B.E. Kjellmark collected N. alba var. rubra, the “Swedish Red Waterlily”. |
| 1859 | Henry Shaw opened Missouri Botanical Garden - Article |
| 1862 | Wallace's Line |
| 1864 | N. 'Daubenyana', the first hybrid day-blooming waterlily, published. Credited to William Baxter and named for Dr. Charles Daubeny, it may have existed as early as 1851. |
| 1884 | E. Sturtevant, New Jersey USA, introduced his first waterlily hybrids |
| 1887 | Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac sent his earliest hybrid Nymphaea ‘Marliacea Chromatella’ to Kew Gardens. |
| 1893 | William Tricker introduced his first hybrid waterlilies |
| 1894 | Peter Bisset introduced Nymphaea 'Omarana' |
| 1899 | Henry A. Dreer Nurseries introduced its first hybrid waterlilies |
| Antoine Lagrange introduced Nymphaea ‘Marie Lagrange’ | |
| Claude Monet began his series of paintings of waterlilies | |
| 1900 | James Gurney introduced Nymphaea ‘Frank Trelease’ |
| 1902 | Lily ponds added at Tower Grove Park by James Gurney |
| 1905 | Henry S. Conard published his monograph The Waterlilies. Excerpt - Gallery of Plates |
| 1907 | Fr. Henkel, F. Rehnelt and L. Dittman published Das Buch der Nymphaeaceen oder Seerosengewächse |
| 1913 | George H. Pring of Missouri Botanical Garden introduced Nymphaea ‘Castaliflora’ |
| 1931 | Martin E. Randig introduced his first hybrid waterlilies |
| 1932 | Bill Frase introduced Nymphaea ‘Electra’ |
| Otto Beldt introduced Nymphaea 'Mystery' | |
| 1946 | Perry D. Slocum introduced his first waterlily hybrids |
| 1954 | Charles Winch introduced Nymphaea 'Lavender' |
| 1957 | Longwood Gardens added waterlily pools - History |
| 1961 | Patrick Nutt of Longwood Gardens hybridized Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid' |
| 1964 | Perry D. Slocum introduced Nelumbo ‘Mrs. Perry D. Slocum’ |
| 1969 | Kirk Strawn introduced his first waterlily hybrids |
| 1974 | Ken Landon introduced Nymphaea ‘Pink Starlet’ |
| 1982 | Dr. Slearmlarp Wasuwat published his early Nymphaea hybrids |
| 1984 | Johan Harder introduced Nymphaea 'Karleen Harder' |
| 1996 | Perry D. Slocum and Peter Robinson published the book WATER GARDENING, Water Lilies and Lotuses |
| 1998 | Kit & Ben Knotts, Trey & Nancy Styler, Joe Summers of Missouri Botanical Garden introduced the hybrid Victoria 'Adventure' |
| Kit & Ben Knotts, Joe Summers introduced Victoria 'Discovery' | |
| Kit & Ben Knotts introduced Victoria 'Challenger' | |
| Florida Aquatic Nurseries won the IWGS/RHS Banksian Medal for N. 'William McLane' | |
| 1999 | Kit & Ben Knotts introduced Victorias 'Atlantis' and 'Columbia' |
| Leeann Connelly won the IWGS/RHS Banksian Medal for N. 'Helen Nash' | |
| 2000 | Rich Sacher won the IWGS/RHS Banksian Medal for N. 'Star of Zanzibar' |
| 2001 | Craig Presnell won the IWGS/RHS Banksian Medal for N. 'Midnight Serenade' |
| 2002 | Charleston Aquatic Nursery won the IWGS/RHS Banksian Medal for N. 'Chaz' |
| 2004 | Craig Presnell won the IWGS Competition for New Waterlilies for N. 'Foxfire' |
| 2005 | Charles Winch won the IWGS Competition for New Waterlilies for N. 'Blue Aster' |
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