Lotus Pond (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

In addition to the sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, another favorite summer flower photography opportunity in the Washington DC area is the Lotus Blossoms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I headed into DC yesterday morning to see if they were blooming yet – and much to my delight they are.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens are part of the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens National Park in Washington, DC. Currently the gardens cover 12 acres of open ponds full of water lilies and lotuses, surrounded by the Kenilworth Marsh. The gardens were established in the late 1800’s when Walter Shaw added a few water lilies to a pond on land he had recently purchased. Eventually Shaw and later his daughter ran the gardens as a commercial enterprise. In 1938, Congress authorized money to purchase 8 acres of ponds rather than having the Corps of Engineers destroy them as part of the dredging of the Anacostia River.

Lotus Blossom II (c) 2007 Patty Hankins

Yesterday’s visit was my third trip to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Bill and I discovered the park last summer, visiting in both July and August. We were hoping to photograph the Victoria Water Lilies. We still haven’t seen them – they bloom in late summer/early fall. Instead we had a wonderful time photographing the lotus blossoms.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

The entrance to the gardens is located on 1550 Anascostia Ave NE in Washington DC. The park is open from 7 AM to 4 PM daily, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. There is no admission fee charged to visit the gardens.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

If you are considering a trip to visit Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens – we have a few suggestions that might help you have a more pleasant visit.

• Bring a long lens with you. Last year I used my 70-300 lens and struggles to isolate the flowers the way I wanted to. This year, I used my 100-400 lens and was much happier. The photo just above this section was taken at about 400mm, with an aperture of f16.
• If possible, go on a weekday. Last year, we visited the park on the weekend. Both times it was very crowded and we were two in a forest of photographers with tripods to say nothing of others visiting the park. Yesterday, there were only two other photographers there when I was visited. The three of us had the place to ourselves.
• Go early in the morning. The later in the day you are there – the more likely the flowers are to have closed up.
• Depending on how tall you are, you may want to visit in July rather than in August. I’m 5′ 5″ tall and while I had no problem photographing the lotuses in July, in August they were a challenge. Many of the blossoms were well over 6 feet high by mid-August. In July, they were much shorter.
• Use lots of bug spray. There are 12 acres of ponds surrounded by a marsh. Trust me when I say there are lots of bugs. You’ll be much happier if you apply bug spray before heading into the gardens.

Lotus Blossom I (c) 2007 Patty Hankins

The lotus blossoms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens are worth a visit. The National Park Service staff is wonderful, always friendly and willing to provide information. Even when the gardens are crowded, we’ve never had any problems using a tripod in the park. I’ll definitely make a few more trips to photograph the lotus blossoms this month, in addition to trips later in the year for the water lilies.