The Philippine Horticultural Society, Inc. or PHSI is inviting everyone to join the most prestigious and most updated horticultural event, the HortiKultura 2018. It will be held on February 2-11, 2018 at the QMC Gardens, Diliman, Quezon City.

What is PHSI?

PHSI or Philippine Horticultural Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization of plant lovers interested in spreading their passion and enthusiasm for plants. They bring organizations together to educate and collaborate on horticultural techniques and practices, be it for food, medicine, or aesthetic gratification.

What is Horticulture?

I am not at all familiar with the word but it was explained to us during the media launch that Horticulture is simply the art of gardening. In the dictionary, it is the science and art of growing plants.

HortiKultura Filipina 2018

Celebrated annually, HortiKultura Filipina is a horticultural festival of the Philippines’ endemic, indigenous, and plant hybrids. In 2018, it will aim to promote Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) as the showcase place for gardening and horticultural practices in Metro Manila and the entire country.

One of the event’s goals is for the Philippines to be recognized as one of the most diverse horticultural centers in Asia, as horticulturists showcase our Philippine flora, endemic and indigenous plants and locally developed hybrids.

Activities include horti and non-horti trade exhibits, landscape and table top plants competitions, flower arrangements, lectures and workshops, etc. The 10-day event will not only be for plant enthusiasts but also for those who are becoming interested in having their own little gardens at home. The event will also serve as an excellent learning environment for budding entrepreneurs.

At 86, my grandmother enjoys maintaining her garden. I’m sure bringing her to the event will make her happy because there will be a variety of plants and flowers on display. I will also bring my children with me and it will become our mini field trip for the first quarter of the year.

The HortiKultura 2018 Media Launch

I was invited to attend the HortiKultura 2018 Media Launch and I learned a lot from the speakers. The Tropical Garden was decorated with different kinds of flowers and plants. There were also bonsai and terrarium/vivarium exhibits, my favorites among the plant installments. I couldn’t believe that some exotic and rare plants are priced as high as hundreds of thousands!

Since not all of us were knowledgeable about plants, the speakers discussed the meaning of endemic, indigenous, and hybrids. Endemic plants are special plants because they can only be found in one location on the planet. An example of this is our very own Waling-waling.
Indigenous plants grow in the same area, region, or biotype. And plant hybrids are offsprings of two different varieties of a plant after a cross-pollination. 

We also learned about the modern applications of horticulture in our society. For example, since more skyscrapers are being built in the metro, horticulturists are finding smart ways on how to grow plants inside their condo units. We were introduced to air plants, which thrive without soil and will only need little to no maintenance.

I might check out some air plants and air-purifying indoor plants on February. 

Our afternoon ended with a sumptuous plant and flower-inspired [vegetarian] buffet. I’m a self-confessed carnivore and I was surprised that the food was great! What’s in their menu? Banana blossom tempura, Pansit na puti with wansoy and kamias (I liked this one! I have to start putting kamias in my pansit), Macapuno turon, Hibiscus tea (yes, the gumamela.. in fairness masarap!), and camote tea (camote tops.. okay rin!) 🙂

It was such a refreshing day getting in touch with nature and mingling with fellow bloggers.

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Ashitaba tea, and during the event, I was able to try it. 🙂 I’m a tea person so I found it decent-tasting. But I enjoyed the ice cream version better, LOL.

Aside from Ashitaba tea, I also took home some of these goodies and lovely planters! 🙂 Thank you PHSI and Percx Advertising!

Mark your calendars and join HortiKultura 2018 on February 2-11, 2018 at the QMC Gardens. You may save or bookmark this map + list of activities that will be happening next year. See you there! 🙂

For more info, visit facebook.com/groups/phsihortikultura

Rock Garden

• Group Landscape
• Food Trucks
• Coffee Shops

Tropical Garden

• Corporate Landscape
• Acoustic Nights
• Coffee Shops
• Ticket and Information Booths

Flower Garden

• Dish Garden Exhibit and Competition
• Ornamental Potted Plants Competition
• Flower Arrangement
• Arts Battle
• Daily Lectures/Workshops
• Ticket and Information Booths
• Coffee Shops

Runnex Garden

• Commercial Exhibit (Trade Fair)
• Edible Food Landscape
• Bonsai Exhibit & Competition
• Installation Art
• Daily Raffles
• Ticket and Information Booths

QCX Museum

• Terrarium, Aquascape, & Vivarium Exhibit
• Photo Exhibit of Phil. Orchid Species
• Ikebana-Ikenobo Exhibit

Published: 2017-12-04 21:30:05