Not every garden has a giant Victoria waterlily, but that doesn’t mean they can’t join the fun. Enter the Featherweight Bracket—a playful division of the Waterlily Weigh-Off where smaller lilies take center stage. These petite contenders, with leaves just a few inches across, may not hold a person (or even a pumpkin), but they sure know how to entertain.
This year’s featherweights delivered creativity in spades:
San Diego Botanic Garden delighted viewers with spoof-style videos, balancing miniature objects and crafting hilarious storylines.
Conservatory of Flowers stacked two ceramic frogs onto their leaf, proving style matters as much as scale.
The Morton Arboretum joined in with 12 toy frogs, a quirky nod to lily pad lore.
UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden weighed in with perhaps the tiniest entry of all—one gummy bear (0.007 lb. / 0.003 kg)!
San Diego Botanic Garden described their approach this way:
“We first joined the Waterlily Weigh Off in 2024 after being invited by Denver Botanic Gardens. They knew we didn’t have the massive lilies in our collection, but encouraged us to get creative with our smaller varieties—and we were up for the challenge! When the opportunity came around again this year, we knew we had to dive in. With the brilliant script writing talents of Joe DeWolf from our Science and Conservation team, and the editing expertise of our partners at Petrucci Marketing, we wanted to create a playful storyline to keep viewers entertained while acknowledging that we don’t exactly have a shot at winning. This challenge has become one of our favorites, thanks to the fun, creativity, and camaraderie shared among participating gardens from around the world.”
That sense of camaraderie is what keeps the Featherweight Bracket thriving. Though these entries can’t rival the 183-pound leaf that topped this year’s scale, they capture something equally important—the joy of participation. By leaning into humor and imagination, the bracket ensures that even the smallest lily has a chance to make a big splash, proving that the contest is as much about creativity and community as it is about sheer size.
