Well, I’ve done it. I’m fitness tita, day-drinking tita, and now I’m plantita too!

I didn’t really care much for plants, before. But I always did appreciate beautiful splashes of color in seas of green. I’ve always loved the vivid brightness of new leaves, the symmetry of petals, the curling, gnarling roots of trees.

In 2016, the Unilab Foundation office teambuilding took us to Tagaytay. One day, lunch was at Marcia Adam’s Restaurant. I was so enamored of the beautiful flowers (above and below)!

In 2015, on a Mulat Pinoy-Kabataan News Network trip to Ilocos Norte, I visited the Kapurpurawan Rock Formations with my teammates. It was a fascinating landscape, harsh and fierce.

But what truly engrossed me was the plant life that grew in such a curious environment. The flowers pictured below grew along a shaded path that led from the road to the shore, their colors more vivid for the shadows that protected them from the bright seaside sunlight.

And these, below, grew right by the shore, which was rocky in parts, and sandy in others. I remember the sun was so very harsh, and the air salty. But life persisted, small and dry, yet alive! And look at the stark difference between these plants, under the violent glare of the sun, and the ones that grew in the shade.

And then there’s always Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay. Every time I visit, I am in awe of those gorgeous gardens.

Of course, there’s a vast difference between appreciating flowers for their beauty and scent, their petals and leaves, and actually taking care of them growing them, figuring out where they will thrive and what they need. But I think that’s going to require another long post!