Ken Landon and San Angelo's Famous Water Lily Collection

San Angelo is home to a rare gem, the International Water Lily Collection (IWC) at Civic League Park.

The six-pool park is home to a little less than half of one percent of Ken Landon’s personal collection.

Landon is a pivotal figure in the water lily world, and among the leading experts in the world on water lily genetics and hybridization. He distributes a great variety of water lilies, including the Texas Dawn, the state lily of Texas.

Landon has spent much of his life seeking and collecting our planet’s lilies; his collection has even saved some species from extinction.

The website for the IWC cites how his collection has preserved significant cultural heritage.

“He helped the country of Egypt reacquire the Lily of the Nile. This was their sacred plant and thought to be extinct. He was able to supply enough seed for them to reintroduce it to the Nile River region.”

The extinction of water lilies is a major concern for Landon, “Some are extinct now that weren't in my lifetime,” he said. “Seven or eight just in the past few years.”

For this reason, he continually grows certain species of lilies that are either next to impossible to find in the wild, or have gone extinct in the wild, and disseminates them in the states to ensure their survival.

“When someone says ‘that lily is extinct or no longer around’ they might want to check with Ken, as many times he is able to say, ‘Oh, I have that one,’” states the IWC website.

For example the Zanzibar Lily is practically extinct, only growing on the island of Zanzibar (off the coast of Tanzania). Any lily adventurer will risk catching cereberal malaria carried by the local mosquito population there just to look for the elusive plant. Landon has that variety in San Angelo, though.

“I have it here,” he explained, “When I get the numbers up I spread them around.”

Aside from his preservation successes, Landon is probably better known for his beautiful creations such as the N. Blue Cloud, one of the most sought after Australian hybrids in the world.

The N. Blue Cloud lily is difficult to grow, or recreate. “95 percent of my hybrids I throw away,” said Landon, explaining the difficulty of getting just the right combination of genes.

Despite such a high failure rate, Landon still produces many new lilies that he names after people important to the collection.

“You don’t have to be a dignitary, you can be any of us,” he said during the presentation of the lilies at Saturday’s Lily Fest.

One recipient was the late Robert Sterling Price, a biology teacher at Central High School, who brought students out to the park for hands-on lessons. Landon is genuinely appreciative of teachers like Price, hence a lily is named in Price’s honor.

Landon emphasized the importance of the naming: “It will outlive us,” he said. Once the lilies thrive, they will live long after Landon and those he named them after pass on.

Pool six is where the lilies honoring special individuals are on display.

Spectators from all over come to view the lilies in San Angelo. So far, the IWC has hosted visitors from as far away as Belgium, Germany, Japan, and Thailand come. They come see a slice of the beauty that the lilies offer.

This vibrant latest collection of lilies can be seen at the park until the first freeze.

For more information on the IWC, Ken Landon, or the story behind this San Angelo's iconic water lilies, visit www.internationalwaterlilycollection.com.