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Cultural Heritage

by Telly Ocampo

The Treasures right at my front yard and backyard

I just received a picture through my “messenger” from a friend named Susing Castaño. This picture is a good idea in imprinting in the minds of people the importance of plants for the table; the plants that have been taken for granted.

As we all know, Covid-19 has made a craze for plantitos and plantitas.  The plantitos and plantitas are doing a sizable collection of ornamentals:  aglaonemas, severas, waves of love, cardboard, melonias, rainforest, forever rich ug uban pa nga labi-labing mahala.

I had some in my garden and they were there before Covid-19.  I don’t have names except I call them the way they were called long, long ago in my mother’s time.  Severa is sundang-sundang; Forever Rich is gagmay nga sundangsundang; Bombastik is a kind of Dieffenbachia – the kind I stopped growing when my children’s paediatrician told me to stop planting and raising the plant for they are poisonous.  Agloenemas or Aglaonemas are the plants that I label as gabi-gabi, kay maglibug ang ako hardinero anang mga tag-as ug matud pa niya “foreigner” nga ngalan sa tanom.   

If only I could go around my garden nowaday.  The hip replacement has hindered my easy mobility and unlike Forever Rich – the plant, I’m not forever young anymore.  When I acquired this plant, then, I did not know that its name is Forever Rich. I simply called it and still call it the gagmay nga sundang-sundang. I have plenty of these in my garden since they are the low maintenance kind of plant. Igo rang wilikan ug tubig gamay, malipay na sila ug motubo na ug ilaha. Ug imong panggaon, madugnas hinoon.  They used to be along my hallway.  And from one pot given by Virgie Ayaay years back, nag anak-anak ug midaghan pag-ayo.  And now they are Forever Rich.

I don’t go crazy collecting ornamentals; not anymore, after the orchids craze several decades ago.  A must in my garden are the plants we used to have in my mother’s house: Kalachuchi, gabi-gabi nga pintik-pintik, Melendres, Victory ug Jasmine.  At one time we had Vietnam Rose.  The 

Vietnam Rose is back and now they are grown in different colors. They are now called the portolaca.

But for my bff Ardy, it’s amazing and surprising that despite her VERY BUSY schedule, she always finds time for her plants. One time, she posted in her FB page, a photo of herself wearing her red high-heeled shoes while she was watering her plants. She explained: Padung ko molakaw adto bff, naka ready na gyud ko mugawas sa gate, unya nakit-an naho ang ubang tanom nga mura ug nalawos. Naluoy gyud ko mao nga mikuha dayon ko sa hose ug namisbis ko sa tanom. Ga high heels ko, bff, nga namisbis ug tanom. Ga trending gud kadiyot sa FB. Ha ha ha ha. 

Another friend of mine also said: Bahala ug mauwahi ko ug pamahaw, basta unahon naho akong tanom. I just want to see my plants all pretty and well groomed. I also sing to them. Remember our elementary song? 

I went to my garden

To pick some flowers beautiful,

And the birds sing a song to me

And I cried silently

For i remembered mommy,

Mommy come back to me.

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