Washington post kenilworth aquatic gardens

When I got there at opening around am there were already a few cars in the parking lot, by the time I left the parking lot was completely full. The lotuses bloom from May to August but peak bloom for about 2 weeks in mid-July. I went two weekends in a row on July 12th and July 18th. Both times were amazing! Because not all the flowers bloom at once you will find different areas in bloom!

For the Festival itself will be virtual. For more information on the Festival go here. The best time to view the lotuses is early in the morning before the heat forces them to close their blooms. Also, it tends to be less crowded in the morning hours. I visited on Sunday morning right at 8 am and there were already a few people!

By the time I left at around am the parking lot was completely full and they were only allowing people into the lot as each car left. You can find street parking and walk into the park. I saw a few picnic tables next to the ponds in the shade where you can have a quick break from the heat. In the morning the tables were empty but when I left all the tables were full. The people I saw here early in the morning were all photographers with tripods.

I actually took most the shots in this post with my tripod. Because of the pandemic, in the NPS made the loop around the gardens 1 way only. You will see signs for the direction of the path. They have also closed the narrower walkways around the bright pink lotuses with blockades. I did see several people, unfortunately not obey the barriers and go in there anyway. For a current map of the lotus ponds at Kenilworth click here. The NPS has closed the buildings and restrooms inside the park.

The paths are really to narrow to properly social distance once it gets crowded. And basically by 9 am it was kind of crowded. I did not take my child with me because of the narrow pathways and the heat.

I did see several families with kids though, and even a few babies in carriers and strollers. It is hard to maintain social distancing around the ponds of lotuses though. If I took my child I would go when they first opened and hang out for may an hour before it gets crowded on Saturday or Sunday. Want more flower fields near Washington DC? The historic period of significance for the site is to , beginning in the first year that Walter Shaw may have planted water lilies there and including its conversion from a commercial farm to a public park.

The historic imporatnce of the landscape is associated with the lives of early aquatic horticulturalist Walter B. Shaw and his daughter, Helen Fowler. The site has a distinguishable character as a once nationally-recognized aquatic water garden that was one of the first of its kind in the United States.

Consequently, the park has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 25, Civil War veteran and U. Treasury clerk Walter B. Shaw bought this property in with his wife, Luciana Miller. A native of Maine, Shaw soon began adapting a nearby ice pond for use in growing a few hardy water lilies brought from New England. He quickly expanded the number and variety of lilies through travel and hybridization experiments, and soon his hobby grew into a booming business enterprise.

Winding, willow-shaded paths led through a growing network of pools thick with water lilies, lotus, and other aquatic plants. Helen Shaw Fowler, took over the gardens in The following year, two steam-heated greenhouses were added to help properly care for new plants and bring the tropical lily varieties through the cold winter months. Fowler continued the work of her father into the s, by which time the property encompassed 42 pools.

In the meantime, work on the Anacostia River by the Army Corps of Engineers had advanced to the point of condemning her property as federal land. After years of contesting this appropriation, Fowler eventually agreed to sell the core 8.

The property came under the jurisdiction of the NPS the following year. As the only NPS site devoted entirely to the propagation and display of aquatic plants, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is a unique cultural and natural resource. It is nationally significant for its unique landscape and its botanical, educational, and recreational contributions to the history of the District of Columbia and the nation.

Although there have been some changes to vegetation and pond layout, the wandering paths and beautiful water lily displays make it easy for visitors to envision the site as it appeared historically.