Rustic Homegarden

Evolving through the decades

Natividad family matriarch - Sweny, started backyard gardening in their home at Los Banos, Laguna in the late ’70s. This hobby was supported by the patriarch - Warlito, who was a lawyer/forester at the Forest Research Institute or FoRI (now Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau - ERDB). Sweny started with only 10 pots of Anthurium ‘Kaumana Red’ and single-handedly grew thousands of anthuriums in less than two years. What started as a hobby turned into a full-fledged business when anthurium flowers became popular amongst plant enthusiasts. With the success of the anthurium garden, the family decided to invest more in the business and decided to purchase land in Victoria, Laguna. The land was intended to be the new home of the growing Natividad family aside from the increasing anthurium plants that have become too many for the backyard in Los Banos.

But sometimes things don’t always go according to plan. When the family moved to Victoria, Laguna, the anthuriums that thrived at the higher elevation of Los Banos, did very poorly in the low-lying elevation of their new home. The anthuriums didn’t flower as much and their overall growth somewhat stunted at the new location. And as the Natividad family was just learning about the ornamental plant trade, was that plant popularity and demand waxes and wanes. The demand and popularity of flowering anthuriums started to decline towards the ’90s.

When flowering anthuriums took a backseat after several seasons of fame in the plant trade, orchids emerged as the new plant favorite. At the encouragement of fellow plant grower - Remy Rudis (of Paradise Orchids), Sweny invested in several community pots of orchids and began the transition of the homegarden from growing anthuriums to orchids. Then leading expert on orchids and considered the mother of Philippine Orchidology - Dr. Helen Valmayor, conducted Orchid Culture training courses which Sweny eagerly attended, to learn more about orchid growing and its trade. As fate would have it, the new location was also the perfect place to grow the semi-terete vanda orchids and soon thrived well in the direct, bright sun. In another few years, the family’s backyard garden has orchid flowers blooming everywhere again.

Encouragement from her mentor - Dr. Valmayor’s, prompted Sweny to join the Biannual Flower and Garden Show at the University of the Philippines - Los Banos. She didn’t want to join initially and took her time to just grow and nurture the orchids in the nursery until she felt that the orchids and herself included was ready. In these exhibitions, her plant propagations primarily orchids, garnered numerous awards and accolades. Sweny’s Orchid Farm became a household name for growing semi-terete vandas and phalenopsis in the ornamental plant community.

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