BY: ANGELICA ARQUERO

As a child, gardening was already a passion for Nanay Valencia.

She aims to further enhance her gardening skills by joining this year’s Landscape Competition of the Panagbenga Festival.

She will represent the town of La Trinidad, Benguet, in the Open Category of the competition.

“Well, it allows us to explore different designs,” said Valencia Botali, Landscape Participant.

Although they were unable to participate last year, they have been preparing for their entry in 2025.

This year, their pride is the “Mushroom Ville Garden.”

“Tourists get inspired, and that’s what they’re looking for. Sometimes, they even ask about the dimensions of their backyard,” Botali added.

Meanwhile, Tatay Simplicio opted to recycle materials from last year for their entry this year.

According to Simplicio Sawey, Landscape Participant, “It’s what was available. We didn’t know what materials would come, so we reused what we had from the Enchanted Garden because we could still make use of them for various garden accents.”

To further motivate landscapers in creating their entries, the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Incorporated has increased the subsidies for participants.

Anthony de Leon, Chairman, Executive Committee of the BFFI, mentioned, “We have concepts of flowers, vertical landscaping, and typical landscaping presentations for this year. Moreover, we increased the landscapers’ subsidies by another 10,000. This year, it’s 60,000 pesos per landscaper for a total of 12 participants.”

In addition to this, they assured landscapers of continued support to maintain their works.

Apart from vertical landscaping and the open category, a new “Carpet of Flowers” category was introduced this year.

These will officially open with the Panagbenga Festival celebration on February 1.