``` 1 35th Issue Vol. 4 No. 8 ISSN 2094-1765 August 2011 UPCOMING MIDYEAR ORCHID SHOW Promoting Environmentally Friendly Ways of Growing Orchidby Norby Bautista An Orchid Exhibit booth of Cora Purificacion & Anna Ruth Purificacion-Conde. The onset of the monsoon rains marks the staging of the 65 th Mid-Year Orchid and Garden Show of the Philippine Orchid Society (POS). To be held at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Diliman, the POS in partnership with the Quezon City Government will stage the said orchid show on August 25 to September 5, 2011. With the advent of environment consciousness, the show will carry the theme ‘Green Living with Orchids’ and will promote environment friendly ways ofgardening and orchid growing. This season’s show is usually in time for the flowering season of our very own Vanda sanderiana or the majestic Waling- Waling orchid. Also highlighting this event is be the transformation of a part of the Quezon Memorial Circle park into a tropical paradise showcasing the best of this season’s blooming orchids with a competition for the search of the ‘Best Philippine Orchid Species, the ‘Best Waling-Waling’ and the ‘Best Orchid in the Show’.
An Orchid Exhibit booth of Cora Purificacion & Anna Ruth Purificacion-Conde.
The onset of the monsoon rains marks the staging of the 65 th Mid-Year Orchidand Garden Show of the Philippine Orchid Society (POS). To be held at theQuezon Memorial Circle in Diliman, the POS in partnership with the Quezon CityGovernment will stage the said orchid show on August 25 to September 5, 2011.With the advent of environment consciousness, the show will carry the theme
‘Green Living with Orchids’ and will promote environment friendly ways of gardening and orchid growing. This season’s show is usually in time for theflowering season of our very own Vanda sanderiana or the majestic Waling-Waling orchid. Also highlighting this event is be the transformation of a part of theQuezon Memorial Circle park into a tropical paradise showcasing the best of thisseason’s blooming orchids with a competition for the search of the ‘BestPhilippine Orchid Species, the ‘Best Waling-Waling’ and the ‘Best Orchid in theShow’.
Botanically speaking,orchids are one of themost advance of allflowering plants andare efficient in
transforming carbondioxide into plantmatter. Orchidgrowing andgardening per se isour own little way of contributing inminimizing the effectof climate change,and at the same time,
growing these unique
plant treasures helpsus conserve theseendangered speciesin our own garden. Italso help ustransform amonotonous concrete
jungle into aninteresting tropicalparadise, shaded withtrees, lined with cool
loving ferns,landscaped withcolorful floweringplants, and adornedwith delightfuluniquely scented
orchid blooms. It is also the role of the POS to continue, promote and encouragethe hobby of orchid growing and gardening in anyway possible as it is aninteresting and income-generating leisure. The orchid growing hobby iscomposed mostly of numerous plant hobbyists, which supports our country’sornamental plant industry. The Philippine plant industry has gone a long way,
being highly respected upon by our Asian neighbors as Filipinos often win inlandscape or orchid exhibits, which truly confirms that Filipinos has reallyexcelled also in the art of landscaping and in plant cultivation, especially cut-flowers. Participating in this show is our country’s top orchid and plant collectorsand producers in tandem with the industry’s best landscapers. Free lectures onorchid care will be given daily at 2 p.m. by orchid experts and a plant bazaar willbe set up for those who wish to buy orchids direct from the growers.
Ikebana, which means "livingflowers" or “flowers kept alive”, isthe Japanese art of flower
arrangement, also known askadō (the "way of flowers"). It isa much complex way of flower arrangement, compared to theusual and people who want to doIkebana have to learn manythings. It is not just about puttingflowers in a vase. Japaneseflower arrangements often havespecial meanings.
There are many ways in whichIkebana can be taught. Schoolswhich teach ikebana includesIkenobo, Sogetsu, and Ohara.
Ikenobo is very well known. Untilthe 1930s it was only for upper class people. Ikenobo wasstarted by a Buddhist priestcalled Ikenobo Senkei in the 15thcentury. It uses standing flowers(called "rikka"). It is a Buddhistway of showing the beauty of nature. There are 7 branches.Each branch representssomething in nature, e.g. a hill,valley, waterfall etc. Later, in the17th century, it became simpler and was called "shoka". Shoka
uses just 3 branches called "ten" (heaven), "chi" (earth) and "jin" (man).
Another form of Ikebana is called "nageire". It is used in tea ceremony.
Today Ikebana is very popular among all classes of people in Japan. 15 millionpeople in Japan practice Ikebana. It has also become popular worldwide andpeople around the world are doing Ikebana, and even here in the Philippines,there are now some schools teaching this unique art form.
More than simply putting flowers in acontainer, ikebana is a disciplined art form inwhich nature and humanity are broughttogether. Contrary to the idea of floralarrangement as a collection of particoloredor multicolored arrangement of blooms,ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the
plant, such as its stems and leaves, anddraws emphasis toward shape, line, form.Though ikebana is a creative expression, ithas certain rules governing its form. Theartist's intention behind each arrangement isshown through a piece's color combinations,natural shapes, graceful lines, and theusually implied meaning of the arrangement.
Another aspect present in ikebana is itsemployment of minimalism. That is, anarrangement may consist of only aminimal number of blooms interspersed
among stalks and leaves. The structureof a Japanese flower arrangement isbased on a scalene triangle delineatedby three main points, usually twigs,considered in some schools tosymbolize heaven, earth, and man andin others sun, moon, and earth. Thecontainer is a key element of thecomposition, and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction.
The spiritual aspect of ikebana isconsidered very important to itspractitioners. Silence is a must duringpractices of ikebana. It is a time to
appreciate things in naturethat people often overlookbecause of their busy lives.One becomes more patientand tolerant of differences,not only in nature, but alsoin general. Ikebana caninspire one to identify withbeauty in all art forms. Thisis also the time when onefeels closeness to naturewhich provides relaxationfor the mind, body, andsoul.
This arrangement was arranged tocelebrate Girls' Day (Hina Matsuri).Mechanics: Kenzan.Container: Black plastic tray, black
Ikebana has many patternsand styles, and it has evolvedthrough the ages. Ikebana inthe beginning was verysimple, constructed only a
very few stems of flowers andevergreen branches. This firstform of ikebana is calledKuge.
Styles of ikebana changed inthe late 15th century andtransformed into an art formwith fixed instructions. Bookswere written and Sedensho isthe oldest one, covering years
1443 to 1536. Ikebanabecame a major part of traditional festivals, andexhibitions were heldoccasionally.
The first styles were a tall,upright central stem that hadto be accompanied by twoshorter stems. During theMomoyama period, 1560–1600, splendid castles wereconstructed. Noblemen androyal retainers did large
decorative Rikka floralarrangements that were themost appropriate decorationfor the castles.
The Rikka (standing flowers)style was developed as aBuddhist expression of beautyof nature. It includes sevenbranches representing hills,waterfalls, valleys, and other objects of nature arranged ina specific way.
introduced. The style used for tea ceremony rooms was called Chabana. TheChabana style is the opposite of Momoyama style which emphasized on rusticsimplicity. The simplicity of the Chabana helped create the Nageire or “thrown-in”style.
Nageire is a non-structured designwhich led to the development of theSeika or Shoka style. The style ischaracterized by a tight bundle of stems that form a triangular three-branched asymmetrical arrangementwhich was considered classic.
Seika or Shōka style consists of onlythree main branches, known as 'ten'(heaven), 'chi' (earth), and 'jin'
(human). It is a simple style that isdesigned to show the beauty anduniqueness of the plant itself.
Jiyūka is a free creative design. It is notconfined to flowers; every material canbe used.
STARRDEC Promoted Agricultural Products of the
Southern Tagalog Region Through its Regional
Symposium & Techno-Gabay Summit.
The Southern Tagalog Agriculture & Resources Research & DevelopmentConsortium (STARRDEC), an organization composed state universities andgovernment agencies conducting research on the region’s agricultural products,held its 24th Regional Symposium on Research and Development Highlights and1st Regional Techno Gabay Summit last August 15-17, 2011 at the SouthernLuzon State University in Lucban, Quezon. This year's theme was "Paving theWay for Total Factor Productivity to Meet the Challenges of Regional and GlobalEconomy". It was attended by participants from its 32 consortium member
agencies from provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Rizal, Cavite, Romblon,Marinduque, Palawan, Mindoro and Metro Manila.
Rizal Technological University is one of the members of STARRDEC, belongingin the group situated in the National Capital Region.
STARRDEC is committed in the advancement of Research and Development inagriculture, forestry and natural resources in the Southern Tagalog Region
through provision of astronger and relevantR & D services for farmer-clients, SMEsand LGUs;
improvement of commodities for competitive regionaland provincialindustries; and byincreasing inpremiums for member -agencies' value of participation.
(Left) The poster used
during the promotionof the symposium and techno-gabay summit.
The productspromoted for theregion includes fruits(banana, rambutan,mango, lanzones anddragon fruits),vegetables (pakbetand chopseuy group);coffee, wood and bio-
fuels, lumber and panel products, corn, bamboo, coconut, carabao, rice andoffering of environmental services.
Some of the common products in the region are lakatan banana, barako coffeeand the uniquely colorful dragon fruit.
Market places full of harvested pineapples and chico, mostly fruits in season arecommon sites in Cavite and Batangas area which usually welcomes travelersalong the highway roadsides.
The Southern Tagalog region is blessed with a warm tropical climate and plentyof rainfall, making it a conducive and productive region for upland agriculture.Aside from plant crops, the region is also known for its livestock – swine, cattle,carabao, chicken, ducks, fresh and salt-water fish, and sea foods.
Vegetables like bell peppers and tomatoes are found in roadside public markets.Rambutans are usually seasonal fruits and is found in abundance in this
provinces. Coconuts are common sites in the farms of Quezon and Laguna.
The participants enjoyed the field trips as they are able to see first hand thevarious products right their in the farms. They are even able to interview theFarmer Scientists for this season.
The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDF Format) of the Plant Biotechnology Project, Research & Development Center, Rizal Technological University, Boni
Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It is published monthly. For more information, pleaseinquire thru email: [email protected] or [email protected] and landline(+632) 534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.
The Dragon Fruit is one of the morecolorful fruits being sold in the market. Itoriginates from Central and SouthAmerica, where it is also known as pitaya
or pitahaya. It is also called the strawberrypear or nanettikafruit. It’s one of the mostwidely distributed members of theCactaceae family. There are threespecies of Dragon Fruit in the genusHylocereus and one species in the genusSelenicereus. Varieties of Hylocereusguatemalensis, Hylocereus polyrhizus,and Hylocereus undatus, as well ashybrids of these three species, are growncommercially worldwide.
The name Dragon Fruit was coined by
Asian merchants. The plant, after all, haslong vine-like cacti which resembles the body of a dragon. Its fruits are red and they came tosymbolize the dragon’s fire breath. The Dragon Fruits in the Philippines are usually red withwhite flesh and black seeds. Dragon Fruit flesh can also be come in white, red, or magenta
The fruit has several uses. The red fleshed varieties contain lycopene, a natural antioxidantknown to fight cancer and heart disease. Red-skinned Dragon Fruits are a good source of Vitamin C and phosphorus, fiber, and minerals. It also contains significant quantities of phytoalbumin antioxidants, which prevents the formation of cancer-causing free radicals. Theseeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The plant is also pretty enough to be an ornamental plant. It’s also a delicious dessert fruit andcan even be processed into a fruit drink.
The Dragon Fruit clings to rocks or branches of trees. Its large white fragrant flowers are shapedlike cactus flowers. Once pollinated, they turn into reddish, smooth scaled, medium sized fruitswith a white creamy pulp, dotted with numerous black seeds and with a delicate aroma. Dragonfruits flower overnight, but the flowers start wilting in the morning. They rely on nocturnalcreatures like bats or moths for pollination.
The plant thrives under full sunlight and in fertile, well-drained soil. Over-watering or flooding willresult into rotten fruits. Also, the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris may also cause the stemsto rot. As it continues to grow, the plant will need a pole or trellis to climb on.
