For me, one of the great surprises of my recent trip to Longwood Gardens was all the shades of purple I found in some of the water lilies (nymphaea).

The first to catch my eye was a Blue Cloud Water Lily. Between the incredible purples of the petals and the bright yellow center – it is an amazing flower.

Blue Cloud Water Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I really liked the look of the Panama-Pacific Water Lily – with it’s petals in various shades of purple.

Panama-Pacific Water Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Eve’s Solitaire is another stunning purple flower. I really like the way I was able to photograph the flower with its reflection.

Eve’s Solitaire Water Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And finally, Madame Ganna Walska Water Lily – with petals in shades of lavender.

Madame Ganna Walska Water Lily (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I’ll be posting more photos of Longwood Garden’s in a few days. If you missed them, I posted photos of some pink water lilies a few days ago.