Bouquet for Mama

One of Mama's favorite species of Vanda

This is my second post for this month. I must be oozing with creative juice. “Classes haven’t started yet, kigs. That’s why!” countered my alter ego.

A bud of hibiscus
waiting to bloom

I spent All Souls’ Day with my parents in Bohol. For the past 5 years, Bohol became a second home. My parents live there and it is where my Dad grew up. Since rural life can be pretty slow, I’d like to amuse myself sketching the flowers in Mama’s garden.

Mama loves gardening. One can find daisies, bougainvillea, hibiscus,  vanda, chrysanthemum, adelfa, cattleya, santan and those I couldn’t name. She also have San Francisco planted at one side of the house.

When Mama wasn’t yet burdened with gout, she used to have collections of different varieties of a particular plant. Back in Gensan, she used to have a collection of different species of vanda, San Francisco, santan, and bougainvillea.

A bougainvillea found
right outside the porch

At some point, I looked at her garden back when I was an elementary kid, more of a forest. You can’t blame me though when the bougainvillea grew up high and its branches seemed everywhere. Not to mention, a fortune plant stood at the middle. But the sweet smell of the gardenia and Chinese sampaguita can entice a little girl to stay and play.

I did mention that Mama has gout, not to mention osteoarthritis to contend with. Her gardening becomes limited. So to step up to do the job would be my Dad, her knight in rusty armor.

To give you an idea on how they interact with regards to the priceless plants of my Ma, just imagine an elderly couple: the woman nearing 70 while the man mid-70s. The woman directs the man to plant a hibiscus seedling near the path.  Later on, the man presented to the wife the weed he uprooted from the garden. To the wife's dismay, it was the hibiscus. They sure are way past the honeymoon stage.