Book Review: Tropical Gardens of the Philippines

Just got an email from McDonalds thru Nuffnang and part of it says..."A blank page…or for your case, a blank post is probably one of the most daunting things to face." Ha Ha, right....

More than a month without any post in this blog… it’s funny that it took me an hour before I could even think of my starting words. Skills have waned without practice, I guess. Anyway, I really missed blogging so I am back!

My writing habit seems to be in remission the past months. It wasn’t because I have nothing to share or I totally lost interest in writing. There were just other important matters that I needed to focus on. Actually, it was not just blogging that I missed, I also couldn’t find enough time for my emerald beauties in my small garden. Before, I used to spend my weekends trimming and pruning my plants, inspecting every pot with so much TLC. You could be wondering…where have all my time gone? Actually I was not happily singing to the tune of Bruno Mars’ “Lazy Song”. Even if I sometimes don’t feel like doing anything and I want to lounge in my bed all day long, mommies need to be up and going. Also, we have been visiting our family doctor more frequently these past months that she became more of a family member and the hospital more of a home. We have been rough sailing through June and July but we are thankful we overcame that part and our boat was kept afloat.

Last week, my interest in gardening was once again awakened by one of my great mentors. Ms. Tita excitedly showed me a book she found on sale at National Bookstore (NBS) as she knows that we share the same passion for gardening. 

It is titled Tropical Gardens of the Philippines by Lily Gamboa O’Boyle and Elizabeth V. Reyes. Actually, merely looking at the photographs by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni in every pages of the book instantly convinced me that I also wanted one. And it was not just gardening that I became reacquainted but also my love for photography. But too bad that my cam was damaged and looks like it is asking for replacement. So photography is set aside for now until the time I save enough money to buy a new one. So going back to the book, Ms. Tita gladly lent the book for me to show it to my mom. My mom liked it also that we found ourselves buying our own copy.  It was a reasonable price for all the great gardening ideas and inspiring photographs that we could get from it.  

The book features different kinds of gardens in privately-owned homes in the Philippines. I especially loved Flor’s Healing Garden on page 205 and the Adam’s Herb Garden on page 211 where it shows, what else, but a garden of medicinal plants and edible herbs. There are 40 other types of gardens that had me dreaming, or if ever luck allows me, of owning one like it. You can see there a koi pond garden, or one that is of earth and stone or a pine forest garden.  It will also show you a rooftop garden, one with waterfall, a mountain garden, a palm lovers' garden, a bamboo farm and even a bonsai garden. So while my spectacular garden is still far away from conception and I am still thinking on the kind of garden i want for myself, maybe I could just lend a helping hand to my dad in landscaping his yard borrowing ideas from this book.

The 224 pages book left me admiring those people who have that amazing fondness for gardening with the likes of Patis Tesoro, Tessa Prieto Valdes, the Lhuillier, Aboitiz and Cojuangco who have made this earth looks more like a very happy place.  You can check out the same copy of the book from

                           

Trash To Cash and Some TLC for the Garden

I commit to change with an earth-friendly advocacy:

(1) Don't forget to water the plants every morning (they also need a lot of tender love and care)

(2) #1 and clean the garden (do this more often!!! who wants to live in a filthy space?)

(3) # 1 and buy additional pots and soil (the family is getting bigger)

(4) #1 and take out the weeds and put additional soil to potted plants (they need nutrients too.)

(5) # 1 and gather old bill statements and shred them (yes, got lots of them again after months of hoarding.)

(6) #1 and add the shredded paper to compost (add but don't put too much on a pot)

(7) # 1 and prune the roses and other plants (they also need some makeover just like you)

(8) # 1 and re-pot cuttings and seedlings in stock (give the family some more company)

(9) # 1 and gather used batteries to be brought to recycling market. (lots of them around the house, need to dispose of them properly)

(10) # 1 and gather used paper to be brought to recycling market (ohh, the kids really create a heap of paper trash each day, got to teach, teach, teach them how to recycle.)

(11) # 1 and gather old broken appliances to be brought to recycling market. (i need space so better gather them and exchange trash to cash)

(12) # 1 and bring the plants I promised to give to friends (already distributed some, to those who asked but haven't received their cuttings yet, i will bring them soon!)

(13) Go to Manila Seedling Plant with family and mommy, been holding off this plan for the last 4 months (already put this in my calendar and will be visiting soon)

(14) Join the Adopt a Tree Project for the rehabilitation of the La Mesa Watershed (been saving for this)

Keeping and living it all by heart.

Hard to Say Goodbye to Rose

Last December of 2009 on my way to the market, I stumble upon a pushcart vendor selling potted plants. A rose plant captured my attention as it appeared too beautiful to resist with its three deep-red colored blooms, a different variety from my other rose plant. I bought it for P150 (more than US$3) which made me think that I got a great deal as it is very hard to find potted rose plant for sale within the area. As I still need to go to the market, I temporarily placed my purchase at my uncle’s house which was just nearby instead of climbing 40 feet upstairs back home. My uncle liked the plant so he put it right in front of his window.



I read some articles saying that there are rose varieties which are hard to cultivate thus I anticipated that the one I bought might be one of those kind. So instead of bringing the rose to my garden and suffer an untimely demise on my hand, I left it to the care of my uncle who in his own way was able to cultivate one variety of mini roses in his own urban garden thus he is more an experienced gardener than me.

Weeks passed and the rose seemed to be doing just fine though I noticed some white spots growing on its branches. I thought it was nothing to be worried about but after a week when I visited the plant again, almost everything was covered with white flakes including the leaves. It could have been the changing season that caused this to my rose thus I brought the plant to our home to do whatever I can to save it. When I made a research about it, it looks like my rose suffered from a heavy fungal infection called powdery mildew. It is said that powdery mildew develops rapidly during hot weather with cool moist night. Oh, so perfect time as that’s exactly how the weather was the past days. So it is right that the change of season is really causing damage to my beautiful rose. It is being advised to prune and destroy affected parts of the plant thus when I assessed the infestation, it looks like there is little hope left for this plant but since it’s hard for me to say goodbye to something as lovely as this, I better not give up. I tried to follow the instructions stated on the various articles that I read and I hope it will bring a better outcome in the next few days.

Need To Perk Up My Urban Garden

Lately I have been too busy with site development thus I slightly neglected another favorite pastime which is gardening.  If other people find comfort caring for their pet animals, I find solace tending to those emerald beauties.  I used to do gardening with the kids during weekend but since there were minor changes in my to-do list since the start of the year, I left my garden to the care of my house helper.   The other day, my eldest child called my attention because he noticed that I very seldom visit my garden the past days and he told me that some of my plants were already starting to wither despite diligent efforts of my maid to water the plants everyday. Obviously the intense heat is already causing damage to my beloved garden (due to El Nino) so I must act fast and take pre-emptive measures to save it from possible damage.          

From the time we moved in to this apartment, I asked my husband that I wanted to set up a garden.  Later I learned from Ms. Tita, one of my mentors, that it is now being referred to as “urban garden” based on the seminar that she attended. The term was coined to indicate a place for vegetation within the city, which most likely are collection of potted plants since most areas in the city are already paved.    

I told my dad and mom about my plan and asked for some help from them.  They have different kinds of flora back there in our ancestral home but I do not have the time to visit the place 36kms away to acquire some cuttings since my busy schedule wouldn’t permit me.  I called dad to request if he could bring me some cuttings for which he gladly accommodate. I bought gardening tools  and gardening book to satiate my needs for the hobby.  I also bought about 20 kilos of soil for $4 (P10/k) as there is no free soil available in the city.

Later on, my parent-in-law learned of my plan about the garden, at that time, my husband’s mother was replacing her own collection with red-flowering Euphorbia plant and she decided to give away those yellow-colored ones.  My father-in-law painstakingly brought me pots after pots of flora until it filled more than a square meter of the veranda.  Aside from that, friends also gave me some from their own collection.  With that I was more than ten pots of plants richer J  and more than a day happier as I was able to have my garden without much hassle.

 This garden has a sentimental value for me as this has been the result of collective efforts of caring people.  I just so loved these people for nurturing my leisure pursuit and I am thankful to them for lending a hand and encouraging me to keep doing what I love to do thus I cannot just let this garden be left to nothingness.

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