(CDNPHOTO/GERARD VINCENT FRANCISO)
Eighteen-year-old Khyla Lalangan visits Plaza Independencia regularly, especially when there is no class.
Under the shade of a century old tree, she and her schoolmates would gather at the park for group discussions or to practice for a school activity.
In the morning of August 21, a colorful surprise greeted her as soon as she stepped foot on the historic park — a row of beautiful ornamental flowers had grown in one corner.
It was a sight that she had never seen before during her previous visits to the park.
And until that day, she believed that the newly-planted flower varieties could only grow beneath the fog covering the hinterland villages of Cebu City.
There were at least 10 celosias snuggled up in between the park’s blooming santans. There were also sunflowers growing at the eastern portion of the plaza.
(CDNPHOTO/GERARD VINCENT FRANCISO)
“All in all, the new flowers we’ve seen made the park more attractive because colors are splashed here and there. It’s really beautiful and I think the park could attract more people because of the flowers,” said Khyla, a senior high school student enrolled in a private university in Cebu City.
Khyla’s wisdom comes from knowing that thousands of Cebuanos and tourists troop to the city’s mountain barangay of Sirao to enjoy a magnificent view of the flowers that grow there in abundance.
The celosias blooming at Sirao Flower Farm had made the mountain village, now dubbed as Cebu’s “Little Amsterdam,” a popular tourist site about 17 kilometers uphill from Barangay Lahug.
NEW FLOWERS
The new flowers at Plaza Independencia were planted after park administrators received a donation amounting to P 160,000 from the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) for the park’s rehabilitation.
It was SFI’s way of compensating for the damage wrought by crowds of Sinulog revelers last January who attended concerts held at the park in line with the Sinulog 2018 festival.
Following the week long celebration, gardeners from the Cebu City Government’s Parks and Playground Commission found that their ornamental plants and flowers had died from being stomped on by the park’s visitors.
But instead of simply replanting the same type of flowers, four nurseries were set up behind Fort San Pedro, just a stone’s throw away from the park, to cultivate and produce new varieties that can be used to adorn the plaza.
“We bought the flowers from Sirao, brought them all the way down here. We thought they would never grow but here they are,” said Dr. Librado Macaraya Jr., head of the city’s Parks and Playground Commission.
Not all the flowers were immediately planted at the park, said Macaraya, as most are still safely tucked away in the newly-constructed nurseries to allow them to grow.
“Flowers are delicate, and that’s also why I decided to have my office in a small space right in front of the nurseries so I could personally and closely attend to them,” Macaraya told Cebu Daily News.
Aside from celosias, Plaza Independencia now boasts of zinnias (a type of daisy), and cosmos, a member of the sunflower family.
Specific areas, where guests could take photos of the park’s new attraction without causing any harm to the flowers, were also identified.
“We’ve placed areas where they can pose with the flowers without actually stepping on them. And we’ve placed bamboo fences around these flowers so that no one will stomp on them,” Macaraya explained.
During a visit to the park, CDN watched as some students brandished selfie sticks to take their photos with the sunflowers in full bloom as backdrop.
Not only students like Kyla were happy to see the new flowers at the park.
After seeing the blooms, Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera shared his delight with reporters one afternoon.
Garganera announced that he planned to file a resolution commending SFI and Macaraya for their efforts in beautifying Plaza Independencia.
“I was out in the park, jogging, when I noticed these new flowers, and they really made the area more beautiful. When you do your jogging there, they add color to your day,” said Garganera.
The park’s new attraction will be formally introduced to the public in October.
“We hope by 2021, when Cebu celebrates the 500th year of Magellan’s Landing, these flowers will help Plaza Independencia boost its attractiveness to the guests,” said Macaraya.
Plaza Independencia, located along M.J. Cuenco Avenue in downtown Cebu City, is the island’s most historically significant park.
Originally called Plaza de Armas in the 1600s, it has been a witness to the many phases of Cebu’s rich history.