by Telly G. Ocampo
Flowers in September
Some flowers luxuriously bloom in the month of September. The gumamela or antwanga is one example.
One Sunday before Covid (a couple of years ago), my bff Ardy and I went just felt fancy free to Cebu. It was some sort of a time out for us, just a day of lamierda. When we arrived Cebu, we went on separate ways: she to her son, Gerrymar and his family for lunch bonding. And I also did my bonding with my family. However, we made sure that we also checked in a hotel near the Redemptorist Church so we could have a comfortable time doing our Sunday obligation and take a bite at the restaurants nearby.
And we started the lamierda. First, we visited my college chum. This friend of mine has her collection of beautiful gumamelas. So I cut several twigs for me to bring and plant at home. The yellow flower shown in this page is one of those. Most of what I have, come from my friend’s garden in Cebu. My bff can have the colors she wants from my garden.
Another beautiful September bloom is the white cattleya. My white cattleyas came from a friend when I was a volunteer of Enfants Du Mekong, a French foundation primarily giving educational scholarships in several third world countries including the Philippines.
But the cattleyas that supersede in my mind are the purple ones – those that were placed in a window box – just across my window in Tacloban. Cattleyas naturally bloom in September. Where did I see the purple flowers?
When we were new in Tacloban in the 70’s, the old house along Burgos street had its window box filled with purple blooms. The scene mesmerized me. Tuyoon man gani nako ug labay adto nga balay aron ko makakita sa mga cattleyas. Several years later, the owners of the purple flowers became our very close neighbour when we built our house just across theirs. I’m speaking of the Quintero’s. Our neighbours, to our left were the Quintero’s of the payola fame: Ambassador Eduardo Quintero, one of the authors of the Philippines Sabah Claim. During martial law, he sought exile in the United States where he died. But his body was flown home to Tacloban for internment. That was before the bloodless Edsa revolution.
Early morning of Monday I read on facebook the demise of Mrs. Julieta Quintero, the matriarch of my very good neighbour just across our house. The very same neighbour whose window plant box was filled with cattleya purple flowers every September. They are the Quinteros who are more than a family to us. Their yard has been our children’s playground. My children can climb their santol and Igot trees when these were in season. The fragrance of the ilang-ilang flowers from their yard reached our bedroom on clear nights. They had a playhouse for their daughter Rosemarie which my girls can use on summer days. The companionship was interrupted only when Rosemarie would study music at St. Scholastica’s in Manila.
I will now talk about the Banderas Espaniolas, the flowers we collected in 1995, symbolizing the 400 years of Christianity in our old hometown of Baclayon. Nong Ite Mendez (Graciano Mendez) was the frontliner in our greening program. We had a kaleidoscope of flowers in our saging-saging: red yellow fuchsia pink and combination of yellow and tangerine and salmon. When they were all in bloom, nag anam pud ug kahurot ang mga saging-saging. And the neighbouring houses had their blooms. We took over the watering of the park fronting the church when Nong Ite and Nang Letty had their vacation in Australia visiting their children. Tio Meling (Melecio Caballo) was ever ready with his trailer and big drum (we call as barel) of water religiously watering the grown up plants planted by Paolo. Mi give up si Dalene ug bobo kay dili kuno lalim. Gardenia Jayag Uy, the school principal, adopted the little park with the school children sweeping the falling leaves. What is left now of the park after the earthquake is just a narrow strip fronting the church. Luckily the monument of the Christo Rey was left untouched where the yukkas and bougainvillas are there. Nong Ite, Tio Meling, Dalene, Anding Laling, Nang Dinay, Tio Pat are all gone.
But the little park and the trees remain as a living testament of the program they have supported. It was a piso-piso project and a passion to care for the environment.