(By Elizabeth Tuico) A national park dedicated to water lilies that rivals anything depicted in a Monet painting quietly thrives in Washington, D.C. July is the best time to view this cultivated collection of plants located at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens within Anacostia Park. The National Park Service celebrates this property every year with the Lotus & Water Lily Festival which will occur from July 19-21, 2024. Visitors will enjoy three days of cultural performances, classes, and ranger programming.

Three Varieties of Lilies

A variety of water lilies and lotus fill forty-five shallow ponds in this unique habitat. The park includes an elevated boardwalk that glides through the surrounding tidal marshes along with access to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

Plants with strong roots (known as hardy lilies), remain in the ponds throughout the year, blooming from early May until mid-September. Pink lotus flowers arrive from late June until mid-August, with the peak bloom in mid-July. This event coincides with the park’s annual Lotus & Water Lily Festival.

With more delicate roots, tropical lilies only bloom from mid-June through early October, but peak in July and August. The Victoria water lily blooms in August, with viewing of their expansive pads continuing through September, and often even into October.

Take note: It is best to visit on cool days or early in the morning. The midday heat and humidity force the blooms to close. Temperatures skyrocket at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens with few tree canopies to provide shade.

Park History

The park sits on the ancestral homelands of the Nacotchtank people. The National Park Service credits three individuals for the vision and survival of Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens: Walter Shaw, Helen Fowler, and Ranger Mac.

Born in 1838, Walter Shaw spent his early years in Maine before serving in the Civil War. While fighting at the Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia, a Minnie ball hit his right arm resulting in an amputation. He recovered in Washington, D.C. and ended up residing here.

On May 26, 1879, Walter and his wife Luciana purchased thirty-three acres of land from Luciana’s parents for $2,500 in the Benning and Deanwood neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. Walter loved the land. Slowly, he experimented with plants, initially with twelve hardy American white-water lilies from Maine in an old ice pond on the property. Eventually, so many flowers bloomed that he began selling lilies and lotuses.

By 1902, Walter’s flower side hustle became his full-time job. He even developed a drainage and irrigation system to circulate fresh water from the Anacostia River throughout the ponds. The enterprise grew over the next decade, he eventually turned over the business to his daughter Helen Fowler.

A talented horticulturalist with strong business acumen, Helen Fowler expanded the aquatic garden, traveling the world to acquire new plants. What you see at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens today is the direct result of Helen’s research and hard work.

By 1931, Helen sold fifty-five different varieties of water lilies, and the garden grew to 500,000 plants in forty-two ponds. She also opened the property to paying visitors in the warmer months, hosting 6,000 a day in the summer at Shaw Gardens. At its peak, the business represented one of the largest aquatic plant nurseries in the United States.

However, the Federal government kept close watch on Shaw Gardens. Urban growth and farming caused silt to build up in the Anacostia riverbed. In the 1930’s, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a massive project to reclaim the Anacostia mudflats to help control malaria. This proposed project featured dredging the marsh, including the Shaw family’s land and aquatic gardens.

Helen fought the takeover for years, but finally agreed to sell the property in 1938 for $50,000. The National Park Service took control of the land promising not to fill in the marsh and to maintain the aquatic ponds. Helen rented her home from the government and lived on the property until her death in 1957. She helped train park rangers on how to grow and maintain the gardens. Shortly after her death, the government demolished her home. 

Walter “Ranger Mac” McDowney’s influence continues today at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens. He is the first African American to win the Freeman Tilden Award for Ranger of the Year.

Ranger Mac grew up across the street from the park’s entrance, spending his youth learning all about the flora and fauna with his brother. When he was 20 in 1968, Ranger Mac got a job with the Neighborhood Youth Corps gardening at the aquatic gardens and the adjacent White House Gardens facility. By 1978, he served as a full-time park ranger with the National Park Service stationed at Kenilworth, Rock Creek, Mary McLeod Bethune Historic House, Greenbelt Park, Great Falls Park, the George Washington National Parkway, and National Capital Parks-East Headquarters. Most notably, Ranger Mac co-founded the Junior Rangers, a group of teenagers who helped with tours, worked on exhibits, cleared trails, and monitored cars in the visitor parking lot.

By the 1960’s, the government recognized the unique properties of the marsh, including protection from tidal flooding and establishing an important habitat for birds and wildlife. Today, a boardwalk provides a path from the aquatic gardens to the marshland at Kenilworth Park.

Visitor Center

The hours are 9 am to 3 pm each day, shutting down an hour before Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens closes. The center is the only place where you can find public restrooms. Other amenities include a gift shop that sells water, a small exhibit, and orientation brochures.

Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens

1900 Anacostia Ave SE
Washington, DC 20020

Phone: (202) 692-6080

Open 8 am to 4 pm daily. Closed January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25.

Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens remain open until 8 pm on certain evenings during the Lotus and Water Lily Festival. Check the website for details.

National Park Service does not provide Wi-Fi at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens while cellular service can be spotty.

Photo gallery from the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=5526787&id=B8FB079A-1DD8-B71B-0B138B8409D71AFC

Elizabeth Tuico owns Rebel Road Creative, a marketing and content writing consultancy located in Washington, D.C. She is an avid traveler and enjoys finding hidden gems near and far.