‘More care, please’

Celosias in vivid colors are called “burlas” in Cebuano because of their flame-like shape. The name comes from the Greek word for “burning”.

The sight of broken stems and flowers crushed in the mud so disappointed Maria Elena Sy Chua, she almost closed her now-popular flower farm in Sirao to visitors.

“I  was discouraged … I have second thoughts now of opening this beautiful paradise next year to the public,” she wrote in her Facebook account.

It was a lesson in mass tourism and being unprepared to be an  instant public attraction in the uplands of Cebu City.

The 30-square-meter flowerbeds of celosias, with their brilliant plumes of  red and yellow, occupy the size of a condominum unit.

An overflow of visitors damaged several flower beds in the farm of Maria Elena Sy Chua in upland barangay of Sirao, Cebu City.

Since mid-October, the small farm has drawn crowds of visitors excited to take photos, especially selfies, in the private garden.

After All Souls’ Day, Chua , who held off harvesting the blooms because of the stream of tourists, returned to inspect the place after seeing the online frenzy of images of almost daily visitors, including people standing on the flower beds, unmindful of the damage, or picking the flowers.

“I saw photos on Facebook, I felt disappointed so I had to see it for myself. When I checked it, it is still okay but there are parts of the farm which have gone bald,” she told Cebu Daily News. She earlier posted photos of the flower garden “before and after” the hordes of visitors.

But she’s still determined to  develop the area as her “dream” retirement place and to continue sharing the view with the public.

“Everyone is happy with the flowers. I couldn’t be more glad than to see their excited faces,” she told CDN by phone.

“I just  want them to respect and love the garden.”

Chua, an in-flight manager of Cathay Pacific Airways,  said she plans to retire in two years and build a rest house in the hilly portion of the garden but leave the larger field for the celosias.

She said it’s important as well that the farm  helps the upland community in terms of livelihood. “I never let any outsider in. It’s the community that benefits.  Some residents are selling sweet corn by the road and habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) drivers are earning more. I couldn’t be happier to see them have a new livelihood out of the garden,” she said. Chua said she acquired the land in her late  20s after years of working as a flight attendant.  She paid by installment for a year to own the 7,800-square-meter lot.

At first she let the caretakers, Severino and his wife Justina Ople plant vegetables, then switched to celosia flowers to create her own slice of “paradise.”

It was quiet haven for years, with visits by family and friends and occasional strangers who dropped by.

A photo of farm owner Maria Elena Sy Chua.

Then last month, images taken mostly by young, digital-savvy visitors became viral. “We were not prepared for it. We were shocked by the crowds coming to see the garden. We should have set the rules,” said Chua, in hindsight. For the Sinulog, Cebu city’s biggest festival in January, she said “Manoy” is ready to plant a new crop of celosias to be ready for harvest in three months.

“We just have to set rules this time, like limit the people inside and the duration for people taking photos. I think what caused the damage was letting a big crowd take photos at the same time,” Chua said.

“I was not angry. I could not also blame the people if they got overwhelmed because the scenery is breathtaking,” she said. She visited the farm yesterday and saw more parts of the damage caused by visitors compared to her last visit on Oct. 30, or just before All Saint’s Day.

“It is a learning experience,” she said.

“When I checked earlier, some balikbayans were in the farm still  enjoying the flowers. I guess the damage is really not that bad.”  Chua said she had the cutting of the flowers postponed indefinitely this month to let other people know about Cebu and the beauty it offers.

“That’s when I let Manong collect P20 for an entrance fee as his alternative livelihood since we couldn’t harvest the flowers anymore,” she said. Asked if she was willing to have her garden featured as a destination by  Cebu tourism stakeholders,  especially with plans this month to launch a unique “brand” defining Cebu island, Chua said it would depend on the time of year.

“It is only before All Souls Day when it blooms.  The farm is not like this all year round but if Manoy can plant celosias every three months, yes,” she said. For now Chua said she would wait for the flowers to wither before having them cut down, so that more people can get a chance to appreciate them.

Red and yellow are the theme colors of the Señor Sto. Niño or Holy Child Jesus, patron of Cebu City.   “I never liked flowers before until I saw the celosias bloom. The colors speak of our faith as Cebuanos and that is something I can be proud of,” she said.