Overran by the Octopus Leaves

My lush garden is a forest

The king of my jungle

Starlight!

A confession: I neglected my garden as much as I put blogging at the backside. But our cook has been patiently tending to the plants.  Now that it has been raining, I found out that the garden is lush and that the Schefflera plants are growing vigorously. just look at some of the pics of my nice galamay amo plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Road Trip with my Sisters

Where we stayed

It was a long time since I went on a road trip with my siblings.  Even it was 4pm, sis Teng insisted we go to cool Tagaytay to get away from all our routines. Cecil and I obliged and after almost 4 hours of road travel we reached the lake rim, barely in time for dinner.  We took a not-so-quick bite in crowded Leslie's and spent the next 3 hours just looking for the right room where we would spend the night.  Day 1 was uneventful but very tiring, but we looked forward to an early start the next day. 

Fantasyland

We had our breakfast at 9 am.  We left the Econohotel at 10 following Aguinaldo Hiway till we reached the fork going either to Nasugbu or Lemery.  We went towards Lemery, our destination - the quaint town of Taal. My sisters have not been on this route before.  After another 30 minutes we went pass the abandoned Fantasyland castle by the horizon. Cecil's car headed from the mountainous zigzagging roads till we saw ourselves in Lemery.  After 15 minutes, the prominent and fabulous Taal Church came into view. 

The Taal Church facade

The magnificent church interior

I feel like a selfie moment but resisted it

I have been to Taal once before.  Viewing the church the second time around, still left me marvelling at the stately beauty and the church's interior details. It is grand and beautiful! The town character is equally interesting seen in the intricate patterns and motifs of the old ancestral buildings and houses. We ate our late lunch at Cafe G, a few strides away from the church.  It was sweets galore with dessert and of course my favorite, the peddled panucha.

Faux fire place at Cafe G.

Our travelling companion, Mr. Incredible!

In between Cafe G and Taal Church, a brute looking false yucca caught my eye and my ear.  The nice Dracaena multiflora - which most people are surprised to learn is native to Mindoro, Palawan and the Visayas - was heavily perched on by different chirping birds.  It was noisy but a pleasant sight and sound at the church's plaza. We spent another hour taking pictures and buying pasalubong.

The false yucca trees

Bulky but nice Dracaena multiflora

We then followed the route going to Lipa.  When we reached Alabang, almost nearing sundown, we realized we went on full circle, almost encircling Taal Lake. As prize we stopped by in one of the malls.  All three of us had haircuts and treatments.  Hehehe probably not an epic way to end a long trip but it was all worth it.

Lucky are my Students

Measuring kalumpang tree

Having a well-earned break!

Tall kalumpit

It was my first time to get student assistants.  I hired CJ, Antoinne and Arvin to help me finish the physical walking and ocular part of my pending research. For two Saturdays we tried to get measurements of a few trees around the Diliman campus. Of course it wont be a complete tree mission without ever stopping at Marine Science Institute, which has adopted making native trees a landscape attraction.

The lucky clover fern

While measuring dao and kalumpit in MSI I told my students if they feel lucky.  I told them they could try their luck if they could find a 'four-leaf clover' among the greens.  So my obedient students spent the next few seconds running their eyes through the grass blades and Arvin exclaimed he found one. I was expecting they do.  But then again the plant they found is not exactly clover.  Since it is the rainy season, the moisture loving Marsilea fern has returned back to the lawns of MSI. Lucky us they are still there!  

Luck in the greens!



The Unlikely Urban Orchid!

Drab colored but still impressive flowers of G.scriptum

If you ask gardeners, they would probably tell you to shy away from orchids in the genus Grammatophyllum. Though they are know to be the biggest orchids in the world, they are not popular as they are regarded as diffcult to bloom in the city.  Plus if they do bloom, most of the species display drab unattractive colors.

 

But to the experts, the orchid is indeed worth the while to grow for orchid lovers.  The easy species like G. scriptum will easily root and establish in the city garden, potted or mounted on driftwood. In a short time it would already bring out new shoots and reach considerable flowering size. Specimens readily bring out the earth colored flowers.  Though they may not be showy, the size and the shape compensate for the drab hues, truly an interesting specimen to have in any urban garden!

The Advocacy!

I just realized something.  I have actually let my work silence my advocacy.  It is not just a matter of learning and experiencing the presence of native flora.  I would have to share what I learn about them.  The joy of documenting and imparting the information should fire up my zest to blog about them.  I will have to continue...


Dillenia sibuyanensis in flower in the garden.  I still love the native plants.  They continue to love me back with their nice flowers.