A better version of Baguio Centennial and Botanical Garden will be unveiled March 6, in time for the opening of the 27th Baguio Flower Festival.
Renovations started in 2021 while the area was not yet fully opened to the public, according to City Environment and Parks Management Officer Rhenan Diwas, who said the series of lockdowns and the restricted movement of the public has made it easier for his office to proceed with park’s rehabilitation.
Diwas said to truly live up to its name as a botanical garden and to complement the already existing trees and shrubs in the area, more blooms have been added to make it more colorful. The landscaping has also been improved with some parts looking like a sloping carpet of flowers.
Turf grass has also been planted around the Builders of Baguio monument and around some patches of blooms.
At one section of the park, gardeners of Cepmo also planted mirasol, a type of sunflower that helps brighten the area owing to its saucer-like blossoms and bright yellow color.
Also under construction is a structure that looks like a giant birdcage but is actually an orchidarium where varieties of orchids will soon be displayed, Diwas said.
The greenhouse, which now has cacti and other succulents donated by collectors, has also been improved.
Diwas said the only major works done were the installation of garden fences and enhancement of the walkways which are now more navigable for persons with special needs and senior citizens.
Landmarks of sister cities such as the miniature Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, U.S.A., the elephants of Thailand, the pagodas and zodiac monuments of China, the Japanese tunnels, and the Taipei arch have also been interconnected via curated pathways.
Cepmo will also retain the accents and facilities already present at the former Botanical and Zoological Garden, now the Botanical-Centennial Park where the brass sculpture of Ben Hur Villanueva depicting the builders of Baguio is on display since 2009 when Baguio celebrated its centenary.
The Igorot woodcarvings donated several years ago by the management of the Baguio branch of Barrio Fiesta will be displayed at a soon to be designated portion of the park, while the area where the cages for the zoo used to be will be transformed into a sunken garden, Diwas said.
Other plans for the park will be to establish an arboretum where various tree species, flora, and other herbaceous plants for tourism and educational purposes will be tended.
In line with plans of making Baguio a city of flowers, the Cepmo, in the last quarter of 2021, unveiled the Rose Garden of Burnham Park where compared to previous years where the shrubs were sparse, the shrubs are thicker now and the blossoms are bigger.
Cepmo has also embarked on an experimental marketing scheme of allowing food trucks to operate at Rose Garden with condition that they operate only on certain days of the week and serve food that would blend with the theme of the area such as what is being done by one concessionaire who sells floral-infused coffee.
In a previous interview, Diwas said also in the pipeline is to upgrade the retail area for flowers at Burnham into a floral lane where the booths will be redesigned into floral carts or booths similar to those in Europe or the U.S.A.
Diwas then said upgrading the city’s parks need not entail major earthmoving works but its features only need to be enhanced or the layout only be adjusted to incorporate new designs.
Entrance fee at the Botanical Garden is P10 but Cepmo intends to ask the city council to pass an ordinance increasing admission fees.
Private floral and fruit gardens that offer services and amenities such as camping sites, restaurants, and fruit picking have recently been a booming business and tourist attraction around Benguet, recently.
The most successful so far are the strawberry farms of La Trinidad, the Living Gifts cacti farm at Barangay Alno; the Darjanes poinsettia and sunflower garden and the Garden nen Ines anthurium garden both in Shilan, La Trinidad, the Northern Blossom Flower Farm and Haights Place Sakura Park, both in Atok, and the lemon farm in Tublay, Benguet. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
April 26, 2024
