Garden Notes

My interest in gardening came from my mother and grandmother. Growing up, I would hear conversations about anthuriums, dendrobiums, cattleyas and other orchids. I would often browse their books showing rare species of orchids and some showing flower arrangement techniques. Some of these publications also had plants that do not grow in the tropics and how I wished I could also see them in person.

Seeing my grandmother planting some bulbs in our garden, they were gladiolas, I remember thinking, how unusual, plants growing out of big, plump seeds.

Most of these photos were taken in 2022, the year I gave birth to my daughter. It was a challenging year and I stayed most of the time inside the house, where I have explored gardening even more. We have a balcony in our apartment in Milan, which is until now a work in progress, it stretches from our living room to my studio, a narrow space facing West with full sun in the afternoon.

I planted some bulbs– daffodils, tulips, fritillaries (only 1 grew out of 8), plants that I have seen on of my mother’s books. I have my olive tree that moved with us from the old apartment, a rose bush called Desdemona with fragrant white flowers, and a blush pink Hydrangea which have been resurrected twice now.

I grew sweet peas out of seeds and made a structure for them to climb on. A trellis? An obelisk? Plant support? Tower? I still don’t know what it is called. I bought bamboo from the garden supply store and woven some rattan that I have at home.

As I have paused most of my work activities, dedicating my full time tending to a newborn, I longed for doing things solely for me and so I found it through gardening.

While this holiday season, there is little to celebrate and be merry about, I appreciate more than ever being with my family and being home in the Philippines-- caring for and being cared for. Thank you for being here, hope you have a rest to fight another day.