About This Stamp
Elegant water lilies grace four stamps from the U.S. Postal Service®.
Each stamp depicts a close-up of the flower of one of four classic garden water lilies. The photographs were shot in summer at the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C.
Water lilies are aquatic herbs that live in both temperate and tropical climates around the world; they are found in still freshwater habitats. There are more than 50 species in the water lily family (Nymphaeaceae) and hundreds of hybrids.
The flowers of the hardy water lily sit at or slightly above the water’s surface; the flowers of tropical water lilies, which produce more blossoms each season than the hardy variety, are held aloft on stems several inches from the surface.
Although delicate looking, hardy water lilies are tough and grow well in much of the U.S. Tropical water lilies, which require water temperatures above 70 degrees, have a more limited range, but the flowers are larger and more vibrantly colored. Water lilies bloom in the U.S. from spring to fall. Many water lilies bloom only during the day, but there are several night bloomers whose flowers open in the late afternoon and close at morning's light.
Water Lilies will be issued in a booklet format.
Art director Phil Jordan designed the stamps using existing photographs by photographer Cindy Dyer.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Phil Jordan
Phil Jordan grew up in New Bern, North Carolina, and attended East Carolina University. After Army service in Alaska, he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in visual communications. He worked in advertising and in design at a trade association before joining Beveridge and Associates, Inc., where he provided art direction for corporate, institutional, and government design projects. A partner in the firm, he left after 18 years to establish his own design firm where he managed projects for USAir, NASA, McGraw-Hill, IBM, and Smithsonian Books, among others. He was Design Director of Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine for 15 years. His work appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications such as Graphis and Communications Arts. A past president of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, he was an art director for the U.S. Postal Service from 1991 to 2014. A resident of Falls Church, Virginia, he is a retired glider pilot and a member of the Skyline Soaring Club.