Los Baños Horticultural Society’s Show 2014: Flores de Mayo

Senior Social Hall, University of the Philippines , Los Banos, Laguna-Philippines

center garden landscape executed by VS Orchids

The 2014 annual garden show unfolded at the Senior Social Hall . The annual show theme” Flores de Mayo  ” showcase the flowering plants that are blooming during the month of April and May. This year’s show is in cooperation with University of the Philippines- Los Baños, Los Baños Horticultural Society , Department of Trade and Industry – Laguna , Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCCARD) with the support from various affiliated societies . 

Dendrobium cucullatum

 Dendrobium cucullatum – fairy sanggumays or lesser sanggumays add beauty to the landscape exhibit  done by Mr. Vicente Chin Jr.  The orchid with thousand of flowers ( 5 clumps ) won a special prize .

This also coincide with the yearly graduation of the students and visits of some balikbayans and alumni in time for the summer break. The show organizers will pay tribute to Ms. Lita Ibarra of Gintong Talulot farm.

neoregelias

The center piece landscape was executed by VS Orchids and Ornamental plants which showcase different bromeliad hybrids , tillandsias, annuals and different kinds of orchid hybrids.

community booth

Exotica by Dr. Ben Vergara

This booth was executed by the landscape team of Dr. Ben Vergara, His booth won 2 prizes 3rd Prize ” Booth Construction” .

The main plant featured in his booth were Kalanchoe hybrids

Ms. Fe Venenoso booth#8

Ms. Fe Venenoso landscape booth won 2 prizes ”  2nd Prize Booth Construction ”  and 2nd Prize ” Booth Composition ” aside from the countless of ornamental plants that won some prizes at the ongoing show. Ms. Fe specializes in growing anthuriums for  cut flower varieties like “white color” and Hawaii varieties. She also accepts landscaping jobs.

Contact : 0927-373-6014 ( GLOBE)

Mr. Raymundo Catipon

Mr. Ray Catipon is LBHS board member and  is also into plant propagation and seller of ornamental plants.

Contact : 0921-5959185

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Horticulture 2014: Conference

 Fernando H. Lopez Hall , Bureau of Soil and Water Management, Visayas Avenue corner Elliptical Circle, Quezon City – Philippines

Philippine Horticultural Society in partnership with Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies, Department of Tourism ( DOT), Quezon City government , Department of Labor and Employment ( DOLE) , Overseas Workers  Welfare Administration ( OWWA), Philippine Council for Agriculture , Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development  ( PCCARD) , Los Baños Horticulture Society ( LBHS ) opened to the public a 2-day technical conference. 

L-R Mrs. Remedios Rodis Santelices, Mr. Macky and Ms. Edna Felipe ( registration committee 

Mrs. Adoracion S. Bernabe and Dr. Ben Vergara

Mr. Micheal A. Calaramo- Northwestern University in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte province

Mr. Micheal A. Calaramo  from Northwestern University talked about ” Establishment and Sustainable Maintenance of a Botanic Garden ” The importance of having a botanic garden in the country, it costs of maintenance, operation and permits .

Mr. Micheal A. Calaramo received a “certificate of appreciation ” from Horticulture 2014 organizers. He is also a board of director of the Philippine Native Plant Conservation Society Inc. ( PNPCSI)

Northwestern University: http://www.nwu.edu.ph/

Ms. May Dumlao

Ms. May Dumlao ( PHSI ) immediate past president. She is one of the SECRETARIAT during the conference.

Mr. Ronald C. Costales

Mr. Ronald Costales talked about the different types of Tourism . One of the examples is the Costales Nature Farm

Agriculture Tourism : A World Trend that Brings Better Life to Farmers

Costales Nature Farm  is accredited by the Department of Tourism and  certified organic farm ( NICERT certification number NIC 1201) It is located just below the foot of Mount Banahaw, Brgy. Gagalot,Majayjay , Laguna.  The farm is visited by more than 3000 tourists (local and foreign) every month with different purposes. Farmer visitors want to know and learn how we do organic farming.  Businessmen want to invest and relax at the farm. Students conduct their educational tours.

Mr. Ronald Costales received a ” certificate of appreciation ”  and loot bag from PCCARD-DOST  from Mrs. Adoracion S. Bernabe ( President – Philippine Horticultural Society) and Professor Fernando Aurigue Jr.

Costales Nature Farm : http://www.costalesnaturefarms.com/

Contact Information: +63 939 9640808
+63 49 576382

Dr. Teresita D. Amore  ( University of Hawaii )and Dr. Surawit Wannakrairoj ( Kasetsart University)

Kasetsart University: http://www.ku.ac.th/english/

University of Hawaii: http://www.hawaii.edu/

Mama Ely’s Catering

Mr. Miguel Bartolome and Ms. Janet Natural

Contact : 0939-3777999

The breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks were prepared by Mama Ely’s Catering ( official caterer provided by Department of Agriculture)

Note: I missed some of the speakers  in the afternoon ,  there was another event invitation  .  I liked all the topics presented and kudos to all the organizers of Horticulture 2014 conference!

Los Baños Horticulture Annual Show 2012

Senior Social Hall , University of the Philippines, Los Baños , Laguna -Philippines

The centerpiece of 2012 UPLB garden show exhibit was landscaped by Mr. Carlos Valeriano C. Lazaro of Laguna.

The Los Baños Horticulture  Show which is going on from  March 23 to April 1, 2012 at the Seniors Social Garden at University of the Philippines- Los Baños, Laguna . The show is adopting a theme dubbed, “Gardening: A Lifestyle.” Featured Plant: Flowering Plants

PCARRD booth selling books, brochures , Philippine hoya poster

The event is under the auspices of the Los Baños  Horticultural Society in cooperation with Department of Trade and Industry ( Laguna ) , Philippine Council for Agriculture , Aquatic and Natural Resources Research Department – DOST  PCARRD and the University of the Philippines ( Los Baños ) .

 Annie’s Famous Espasol and Native Delights

 Annie’s Espasol and Native Delights booth at the show, DTI-Laguna is helping the small and medium scale business enterprises  thru marketing and promotion of their products. Most of the customers are students and faculty members of the university, while local tourists  like those from nearby towns and cities are also enticed to buy for “pasalubongs ” take home treats  when they return home from the show.

Kabinsili booth

Kabinsili is a brand of chili powder which is made from  powdered chili pepper from the town of Cavinti , Laguna. The company battle cry ” One Green Thumb Asia ” The company aim is to uphold sustainable development in the production and processing of prime agricultural commodities , embracing the three -prong sustainability approaches .

cute hat shaped native crafts adds beauty to the packaging

According to the manager of  Kabinsili , what makes them different from imported brands is that aside from they provide  social responsibility for sustainable agricultural techniques . They would also promote native handicrafts from the town of Cavinti in Laguna by incorporating in the product packaging .  They are also planning to open their chili pepper farm in the near future for field trips and lectures.

Contact Address : Barangay Silangan Talaongan , Cavinti , Laguna 4013

Email: onegreenthumbasia@gmail.com

Contact Persons : Mr. Melbert Oliveros ( President CEO) 0918-9859461 /0922-9769763

Mr. Noel Villodres ( VP for operations ) 0928-2993362 / 0922-8177318

Exotica – exhibit booth # 9

  Dr. Ben S. Vergara  ( Exotica )  exhibit  won ” Most Educational Booth ”   and ” Special Prize for Booth Construction”  . One feature of the show is  a display of a Practical Living Wall that one can easily put up, especially in a garden with very limited space.

Exhibit booth # 11  won Special Prize for Booth Construction , Most Creative

The use of old window panels, wood  panels, adobe stone blocks with mokaras, semi-terete vandas , ferns , bougainvillea, Ixora from Bangkok.

Exhibit booth #2 landscaped  by Mr. Carlos Valeriano C. Lazaro

This booth won 1st Prize in Booth Construction , Most Outstanding booth . The careful placement of ferns, flowering plants, bamboos , tillandsias, variegated bamboos, euphorbias  and other fixtures made this exhibit popular not only from the judges but also photographers, students and tourists .

Malvarosa Orchid exhibit booth # 8

Malvarosa Orchids and Ornamental Plants is known for their quality and celebrity cattleya orchids that were named after famous Philippine celebrities and presidents.

Their booth had colorful arrays of cattleyas species and hybrids, Phalaenopsis, Dedrobium anomum variety dearei / alba , Paphiopedilum, Oncidium hybrids  . The booth won 3rd prize in booth construction and special prize of booth composition.

The orchid landscape exhibit was done by VS orchids with Ixora or Santan which is imported from Bangkok , Thailand , most of the santan were propagated in their Bulacan farm.

Native orchids such as  ( Sanggumay ) Dendrobium anosmum , phalaenopsis hybrids are used in this part of the landscape exhibit .

Hanging flowering plants complement the white trellis

Booth #6 Won Special Prize for Booth Construction and Most Original Design

Mr. Joseph M. Salacup is one of the youngest board member of LBHS

Mr. Joseph M. Salacup started to collect plants , tillandsia , cactus, aroids, succulents , orchids, begonia,  bromeliads since the late 1980’s . Most of the first plants he acquired were given to him as presents. He started growing and propagating the plants in his backyard. Whenever relatives and friends visits their house, Mr. Salacup would give excess plants. He never thought of venturing into a backyard business since he is gainfully employed in one of the IT companies . His passion for growing these exotic  plants led him to become a member of the society. According to his supportive parents , They just tried selling their excess propagation during plant shows .  Plant hobbyists and enthusiasts would buy his plants  ( Our group always buy tillandsias, dyckias , bromeliads, guzmanias and cacti from his stall whenever we visit the show .) We first met him during the 2010 annual show .

Dyckia platyphylla – ” Cherry Cola ” or ” Cherry Coke ” bromeliad from South America  . This is a nice terrestrial bromeliad preference is fast draining medium . When grown in full sun, the leaves take on a striking burgundy or reddish color hence the name ” cherry cola” was coined.  Mature plants can make a stunning , bright orange flower stalk which can reach 4 to 5 feet tall.  This is a focal point in any plant collection . This unique plant is highly sought after by plant hobbyists due to its color and interesting height of its inflorescence .  Just like in any plant show , this is one of my perfect souvenir . However , we have bought some of this bromeliad  species when we last visited the show in 2010 and my own Cherry Coke had a lot of pups waiting to be divided ! I would like to personally thank Mr. Joseph Salacup and the rest of the board members of LBHS who personally toured me during the event.

For those interested in buying  plants and  landscape job
Contact information: SMART 0919-819-8966

Email: joseph_salacup@yahoo.com

Sources:

http://cycadjungle.8m.com/cycadjungle/dyckia

http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/229.htm

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Los Baños Horticulture Society -summer show 2011

The Los Baños Horticulture Society (LBHS) show was formally open last April 29, 2011 and will last until May 8, 2011 at the UPLB Seniors Social Garden. Rows of flowering orchids, medinillas, mussaendas,  annuals and perennials covered the UPLB campus.

poster of the show

Like Bulacan, Laguna is the horticulture capital in the southern part of Luzon. Growers from as far as Mindoro, Cavite, Batangas, Quezon, Bicol and even Mindanao would come and visit the place in order to buy some of the exotic ornamental plants, fruit trees and hybrids.

Landscape exhibit executed by well-known landscaper , horticulturist and restauranteur  Mr. Vicente Chin Jr.

Mr. Vicente Chin Jr. had executed the landscape on the main exhibit outside the center hall to emphasize the openness of the area. He is known as the “ Wonderboy ” of Philippine  Horticulture. His vast experience in growing a lot of plants and winning awards from local as well as international horticulture shows earned him this distinction.

Medinilla magnifica or locally called Kapa- Kapa because of the cape -like covering its peduncle . This is an endemic Philippine flowering plant is popular garden plant in the United States , Europe and Asia.

Medinilla is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants  in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa with  (two species) east through Madagascar  (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pacific Ocean islands. The genus was named after Juan de Medinilla , governor of the Marianas Islands in 1820.

The Philippines had more or less 100 species of this genus represented .

East-West Seed Company exhibit 

The center featured annuals flowering plants and vegetables by the East-West Seed Company to show case their plant products. This is also to promote the company among the visitors of the place. The other area is to show case the Horticulture Cluster of UPLB.  The company had showcased the company ‘s new line of flower varieties such the celosia, marigold, pentas, petunia, zinnia, and vinca plants . Most of the seeds are imported from Netherlands, Thailand and USA.

native products like woven mats, hats, native bags on sale

The theme of the show is “Fiesta sa Laguna” where different landscape designs of the exhibitors had featured important products, fiesta celebrations or features of a town in Laguna. The show also had an individual plant and orchid competition where some of the growers and hobbyists competed for the “ Best Plant in the Show”.

Grammatophyllum multiflorum exhibited by Malvarosa Orchids , this orchid species won ” Best Plant in Show” with over 1,000 blooming flowers !

“Fiesta sa Laguna,” theme highlighted the province’s popular fiesta culture. Aside from horticulture and hot springs, the province of Laguna also boast of popular delicacies such as buko pie, buko candies, Gen-Randy’s popular tarts which had tasty fillings like Buko, Langka, Cheese, Macapuno and Cashew, fresh carabao milk, quesong puti, cassava cake, oraro biscuits, mangoes, sweetened pili nuts, cashew nuts among others.   There is also a section were popular religious and charismatic songs are played.

Rancher’s Club arch erected in 1924

old dairy station

UPLB Dairy bar- This is where freshly pasteurized carabao’s milk and cheese are sold to the general public

Milk Reception Room  – milk from carabao are received in this area

 Philippine Council for Agriculture , Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development or  PCARRD  or  had an interesting booth where various instructional materials are sold to the general public.

booth of PCARRD

Try to visit their website: www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/

There is also a public lecture held on April 30, 2011 where Mr. Vicente Chin had lectured “Cooking with Herbs” and on May 7,2011 Ms. Irene Bañez will lecture “ How to Make Accessories using Clay”.  Unlike its Metro Manila counterparts, public lectures in Los Baños are only held on Saturdays. According to the organizers, this is to cut down the cost of lecture, since there are very few people who attend lectures held during ordinary days.

Malvarosa Farm landscape exhibit booth

This year’s landscape booths carried a theme and the atmosphere of a particular town in Laguna. The landscape exhibit of Gintong Talulot featured Los Baños while designer Tony Pajaro focused on the town of Calauan.

Second Prize in Booth Construction executed by Gintong Talulot

The town of Pagsanjan is the theme of Mr. Carlos Valeriano Lazaro. Mrs. Mable Chua had featured the products of Liliw and Exotica Garden of Mr. Ben Vergara  – (National Scientist ) had presented the different colorful bougainvilleas of Bay.

Exotica Garden exhibited different varieties of bougainvilleas earning  the award ” Most Colorful Booth”

VS Orchid landscape exhibit booth showing native woven mats, hats  and decorated with buntings

 The towns of Louisiana and San Pablo Laguna was represented in the landscape designs of VS Orchids and Robel Garden

Forest Wood Garden of Myrna Frago had featured one of Laguna’s main produce that is coconut.  Mrs. Myrna Frago landscape exhibit also won several accolades like “ Most Creative, Most Outstanding Booth, First Prize in Booth Construction and First Prize in Booth Competition.

Forest Wood Garden landscaped exhibit

This exhibit booth included pineapples and mangoes as part of the landscape 

The show’s cast of thousands includes flowering plants such as orchids, African daisies, chrysanthemums, bougainvilleas, medinillas, ferns, bromeliads, anthuriums, tillandsias, and a lot of annuals.

crop science cluster tarpaulin exhibit  featuring modern techniques in horticulture and hybridization process

There is a commercial section were over 50 stallholders from different parts of the country sell their products.

The author together with some friends went to the show last May 1, 2011; humid weather and rains shorten the visit of the group.

For more information, kindly visit the LBHS website at http://www.lbhs-ph.org