Misty flowers...

Last Sunday I entered the Denver Botanic Garden and headed straight for the Monet Pond, ignoring all the flowers along the way. I wanted to check on lotus... I was hoping it would be in bloom. And I wasn't disappointed. Not at all! Because the lotus was wide open, basking in the bright morning sunshine...

 

...attracting dozens of bees, by the way ;)

But the lotus wasn't the only flower that caught my attention that morning. The water lilies were as beautiful as ever too ;)

As usual, I zig-zagged between the ponds and flower beds, stopping to admire every bloom that caught my eye...

Even in the early morning, the sun was already high and surprisingly intense. Not all the flowers seemed particularly happy about it. Neither were the people slowly roasting while walking the garden paths :) So I decided to give a few flowers a refreshing shower. All you need is a small sprayer and... trust me... the flowers will thank you. Loud and clear :)

Oh these water lilies... aren't they gorgeous?

Then again, these cosmos flowers are pretty spectacular too, wouldn't you agree?

Of course, once I started misting the flowers, I couldn't resist taking a few photographs. Flowers wrapped in a gentle mist look... well... mystical... and beautiful.

Just look at these purple water lilies! There are not many of them in the garden, and they are turning the heads of passerbyers all the time :)

I know, I know... Some might call it cheating. But I like seeing happy flowers so you'd better keep your opinion to yourself ;)

I really enjoyed wandering the trails and admiring all these beauties. It was such a peaceful and relaxing morning. But as the sun climbed higher, it became really toasty...

I snatched this headshot and then lowered my camera and...  purely accidentally captured its reflection in the water. Well, sometimes it works and now I know what a water lily bloom looks like from underneath :)

Before leaving, I returned back to the lotus place one more time and found this one - the bud was just opening up. The stage I like the most, honestly. The promise of incredible beauty is already here, but it still leaves a little to the imagination and makes you think about coming back the very next morning... The perfect moment to capture it!

I said goodbye to the purple and white blooms... 

...gave one last flower a gentle shower... 

...and then turned around for one final look at the same lotus that smiled at me at the beginning of this morning... It had opened even wider... and somehow I knew it was my time to leave...

Photos taken on July 12, 2026.