During these long hot days of summer compounded with El Nino and with constant temperatures of 33 and above degrees in the shade, I have to water our plants wisely. Fortunate for those living in Valencia and the other towns who need only to pay up to 100 pesos a month for water consumption no matter how much water they use. My water bill in Dumaguete jumped from an average of 500 a month to 2000 pesos last month having to pay the volume of water used (which is I consider a fair deal) and even then, many of my plants have to make it or die.
It is decided that there are sections in the garden whose plants will have to bear the long rainless months and extremely hot weather without watering.
My herbs especially those in the pots need daily watering. For some plants that I do not want to lose, I take a sample in a pot, put it in a shady place and look after it. The rest will be thirsty and even die. This time I am able to observe which shrubs and trees can hold its own without wilting these hot months of no rain. There are definitely winners!
The bougainvilla is one that flowers profusely during hot weather. As my friend, Cecilia says, the bougainvilla thrives on neglect. As a favorite thief deterring hedge because of its thorns, you see them in their glory now as formal clipped hedges or even growing on tree branches. There is no sign of it getting weak in the heat. If you constantly water it, it will pout and give up its flowers. The lantana camara closely follows the bougainvilla. In fact, they are wonders in themselves. I have this climbing lantana that has gone wild and has now covered the roof of an old shed. I am in awe of it. It never needs any watering. From the trees, one of my favorites is the cinnamon tree. A small attractive tree with insignificant flowers but with young attractive reddish leaves turning green as it matures is one of my favorites. This
Is a Philippine cinnamon tree or kalingag in Bisaya. Aside from the cinnamon bark, the leaves are aromatic and can be used as a substitute for
Laurel. Another tree that does not seem to need any watering is Ardisia crinata or coral berry. I did not plant this but this tree just grew between the two houses, probably some bird brought it there through its droppings. It has a cluster of small oblong pink flowers which become berries. The birds eat the purple fruit and the bats love them. The katmon tree( Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe) with its big white flowers and interesting edible fruit is holding up well in this heat. The katmon fruit can be used as a souring agent like in a Sinigang dish. A small attractive tree is the Bengal cherry (Carissa carandae). People here call it cranberry. The small white pink flowers become soft pink oblong berries which become dark red purple when mature. Joyce, the farmer has a stand at the Valencia market selling cranberry juice when it is in season. This tree is full of mean thorns which makes it difficult to harvest. Nereum oleander is a hardy drought resistant plant. True! My Adelfa with its ever- blooming white flowers just loves to be in full sun. But be careful. It is an extremely toxic plant from its leaves, bark, flowers, roots. There are pink and red varieties of Adelfa. The Noni tree (Morinda citrifolia) beats the heat so far with its thick glossy leaves. Our noni tree is glorious in the sun. It is one tree that flowers in its fruit! It is a traditional medicinal arsenal used by Australian aborigines and medicine people of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Its fruit, juice, seeds, leaves, roots and bark are used as medicine. Another medicinal tree in the garden is the calabash (Cresentia cujete). It has big spherical fruits up to 20 inches in diameter. Its hard shells can be hollowed out and used as containers. It is also called miracle fruit. The pulp is white. We take them out and cook the pulp for about 40 minutes. It becomes black as it cooks. We sieve it when it is cooler and bottle the juice. Some people say it tastes like wine. It itself stands “as a beacon of natural healing”. When people see calabash for the first time, there is always a big surprise. How can such heavy fruits hang from the thin branches of this tree?
We do not know, is this extremely hot weather going to be the new norm? I pray not, but it seems the earth has reached the tipping point and climate change whether a natural phenomenon or caused by human activity is at our doorstep. The above plants are just some of the ones in our garden that need little or no watering. Some of the more delicate plants survive because we have some big shade trees to protect them. What difference a tree makes helping cool the atmosphere. We need to plan a city with shady trees (instead of only the palm trees that give little shade). What is going to replace the dying acacias at the boulevard? Yes, they are dying. Dr. Portia Lapitan from UP Los Banos pointed this out. When the branches start to recede, the tree is dying. Silliman University has already planted the replacement trees of acacias between the older acacias especially around the UCCP church grounds. Dumaguete City, what about you?
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