Bok Tower Gardens wins swolest water lily — again

• The winning water lily held 285 pounds, crushing the garden's own record of 183 pounds set last year.
• The competition, started by the Denver Botanic Gardens, drew more than 60 entries across 12 countries, organizers said.

What they're saying: "Bok Tower's really proven themselves as the gardens to keep an eye on," a Denver Botanic Gardens representative said while announcing the winner on Instagram.

• "It's gonna be hard to beat that Florida climate."

Zoom in: That's exactly what Bok Tower director of horticulture Brendan Huggins attributed to his garden's success.

• "We're able to grow these in their conditions outside from a very early point in the year," Huggins said in a video on social media.
• As far as breaking last year's record, Huggins said they were a bit more strategic about how they placed the weights on the lily pad.
• This year featured 305 pounds in weight plates, compared to last year's bags of oranges, chunks of granite and sandbags.