Big Winners of Cactus Dish Garden at the Cactus Craze Show

Hardin ng mga Bulaklak , Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City -Philippines

The Cactus Craze hosted by Cactus and Succulent Society of the Philippines (CSSP ) , Bonsai and Suiseiki Alliance of the Philippines Inc. (BSAPI ) 2016 show had formally opened last April 28 to the public at the Hardin ng mga Bulaklak ( Flower Garden ) within Quezon Memorial Circle.

winners of the attendance raffle for cacti and succulents

 There were a lot of activities like small dish garden competition , medium size dish garden competition, individual cacti and succulent plant competition, table judging , daily lectures and plant bazaar .

There is an entrance fee of Php 20.00 general public and Php 10.00 for students and senior citizens with valid ID’s . The show is until May 8 , 2016 .

Here are some of the Winners

Third Prize – Healthy  and Colorful Gymnos by Mr. Lino Rom

Second Prize- Shell Bursting with Succulents by Luntiang Sining ( Ms. Norma K. Villanueva)

The dish garden exhibit showcase different kinds of seas shells , pebbles with combination of some succulent plants.

 First Prize- Luntiang Sining ( Ms. Norma K. Villanueva )

Large Dish Garden

Third Prize

First Prize – Luntiang Sining ( Ms. Norma K. Villanueva )

small dish garden winners

Here are some practical tips on buying and cultivation :

There are cacti and succulents wholesalers at the show , some of them have stalls within Quezon Memorial Circle or at Araneta Garden Center in Cubao .

cacti and succulents prices may differ depending on quantities, species or varieties.  Most of the dealers were from Baguio/ Benguet area . There are some which sourced their plants from Mabalacat , Pampanga  or have their own backyard garden and thus they are more warm tolerant compared to the Benguet / Baguio dealers.

Try to change the soil/ media if the cacti and succulent come from Baguio/ Benguet area , a lot of them are grown in greenhouses .

Try to attend daily lectures or seminars conducted by leading cacti and succulent enthusiasts. They are a big help to budding collectors.

Try to surf internet and read books to know about the simple cultural techniques , the most common for collector is to over water these plants.

For those who does not want to spend a penny on the cacti , There are a lot of common and ordinary cacti which are grown in almost neglected state . Some of the stems can be readily propagated without any difficulties .

Philippine Food Holidays Culinary Culture by Ms. Clang Garcia

Malolos City , Bulacan province , Philippines

We got a chance to meet Ms. Clang Garcia which operates Jeepney Tours, an enterprise that exploits the jeepney’s cultural reputation.

Its hop-on, hop-off programs, she explains, are inspired by those existing abroad. These special jeepneys are supersized in features. They’re decked out with air-conditioning, karaoke and extra wiggle room — the seats are composed of front-facing rows that can comfortably fit up to 20 passengers as opposed to two rows facing each other squeezing 8 people on each. She had a tie-up with 5 hotels in Metro Manila.

 Ms. Clang Garcia of Colors Integrated Media,Inc. and Jeepney Tour  together with Sir Rolly , Ferdie Talbenito , Ms. Rheeza Santiago Hernandez , Mr. Jose Ruel F. Paguiligan  ( Barasoain Church curator) and Mr. Rolando C. Mabini

She is also a culinary and heritage advocate , She had presented several soft bound book entitled ” Philippine Food Holidays Culinary Culture“. Among the feature were menus and traditional foods of Bulacan .

Special mention are the culinary menus by Mrs. Milagros Enriquez – Culinary historian and icon of Bulacan.

It was presented at the Barasoian Church audio-visual room during the Tena sa Latian sa Pamarawan Culinary tour .

The book features 25 gastronomic destination and  15 heirloom recipes

The book had a launching at the Emilio Aguinaldo shrine few weeks ago , For those who wanted to buy  the book , It cost Php500 to Php 600 and Try to contact book publisher and writer Ms. Clang Garcia

Cellphone number: 0918-9001415 or email : clang.garcia@gmail.com