Gift that became an obsession — Lotus

Someone gave me Lotus as a birthday gift and I barely knew what it was. Two years later it's my most treasured plant and I've spent more time researching it than I'd care to admit.

The key discovery was planting in aquatic baskets with specialist pond compost — once that clicked, the plant transformed. natural filtration improving water clarity and quality is what gets mentioned every time anyone visits. I keep it in a formal ornamental pond with clear water and reflections which works perfectly. foliage die-back and pond tidying in autumn is when I understand why this plant has such devoted followers. frost damage on tender varieties left in shallow water is the one ongoing challenge but it's worth the effort.