James Knock, who lives in the United Kingdom, has been a dedicated collector of Strawn waterlily cultivars for many years and is an expert in their identification and cultivation. Most cultivars were obtained directly from Strawn Water Gardens in the years 1994 through 1998.

In these galleries, James takes us through seasonal and age related changes in coloration of many Strawn cultivars. High summer in England, sometimes only two to three weeks long, provides the most dramatic colors of all, often not seen in other climates. None of the images have been color enhanced or color adjusted.  

^ Spring >

^ A baby in summer

Like many of Kirk's wonderful peach hybrids, the first flowers of each season are a uniform shade of yellow. But as the plant matures and the light levels increase, the gorgeous peach tones shine through. 'Barbara Davies' is also one of a new breed of semi-evergreen water lilies, a most welcome trait inherited from its N. mexicana parentage. Only a really severe frost will cause it to defoliate and even then not for long.

This wonderful variety is very free flowering but unfortunately it is very slow to reproduce, and subsequently likely to remain a collector's item.

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