Earlier this summer we replaced our old – and regularly leaking – pond with a free-standing disused whiskey barrel, which I cleaned and lined before populating with some fish and new plants. This included a waterlily, which we've not tried keeping before as the previous pond was too small and shallow to fit much in.
After a few weeks, and likely thanks to the intense sunshine we've had during August 2023, it suddenly burst into flower one morning, the bud having pushed its way up to – and then above – the surface of the water over the previous few days.
