Nymphaea gigantea cv. Hudsonii syn (Hudsoniana)
Nymphaea gigantea cv. Hudsonii syn (Hudsoniana)
Nymphaea gigantea cv. Hudsonii syn (Hudsoniana) is a species lily that is one of the earliest cultivars of the gigantea complex. It was grown for decades as the largest blue waterlily available. It is historically significant due to it’s size in society. It is extremely hard to find if at all. It is a blue waterlily with green pads.
The two pictures below that are pink are the archival shots taken by Ken Landon. They were taken on Ecktachrome slide film as the medium of choice during that time frame. It was not very adept at showing true blue colors hence the pink look to the petals. This is the same shot that was published in the book Water Gardening Water Lilies and Lotuses by Perry D. Slocum & Peter Robinson with Frances Perry.
N gigantea cv Hudsonii
N gigantea cv HudsoniiColorCorrected
With Ken’s direction and permission, I took the time to color correct one of the pictures. Ken described it as being a rich blue. Looking at an assortment of photos between us, he showed me a picture of N. Blue Cloud that had the right shade of blue. I color corrected the picture using that shots color and saturation as a template. The following is the result. ***This is a color corrected shot. It has only been corrected to bring out the true look of the waterlily. No deception is intended.**
