Author: Healing Present Nature & Wellness Center

Growing an Eco-Resilient City

Featured by Healing Present Nature & Wellness Center, posted in Container Garden, Gardening and Landscape Design, Green Roofs, Green Roofs, Raised Beds, Therapeutic Garden, wildlife garden

By Michelle Domocol @inflourish_
Back to Inflourish: Cebu Blog

Worldwide, climate scientists and urban planners know green landscapes make a city ecologically resilient. Urban forest pockets, vegetated parks, and a citywide network of greenspaces protect metropolitan residents, land, soil, air and water. Tropical cities integrated with significant swathes of greenery can:

  • provide residents with recreational and relaxing community spaces
  • cool down and regulate high city temperatures
  • absorb stormwater and mitigate flood damage
  • improving air and soil quality
  • act as a sound buffer against urban noise pollution

Enveloped by Cebu’s urban air and land pollution, inadequate stormwater management, and seasonal flooding, how can individuals receive the life-saving benefits of citywide greenery? How can we expand ecological resilience and protect our fragile island? One method involves building multiple dense residential gardens. Imagine if every apartment complex, gated community, parking garage, and mall in Cebu City grew decorative islands of container gardens at least 4 meters wide. Or imagine if those structures had vertical gardens on at least 2 exterior walls. The collective impact of urban gardens would increase our environmental benefits and eco-resilience.

The photo below may look like a forest of trees and shrubs planted in rural property. But it isn’t. This is a collection of container plants in an urban residential property that grew over 10 years. Never underestimate the power of humble houseplants. This garden no special fertilizer or complicated pruning schedule. The container plants are simply watered 2-3 times a week, grow well in Cebu City’s weather, and withstand the urban air pollution. Below I’ll share how this container garden contribute to the urban network of greenspaces. Hopefully, you, your family, and friends are inspired to build more densely planted urban forest pockets and wildlife gardens.

Whether you’re a homeowner, apartment dweller, or as part of a barangay community project, determine how you can build an eco-resilient urban landscape.

Re-Define your space and Re-Prioritize. The property below used to have a regular in-ground pool. The pool was enclosed by bare cement walls. The homeowners decided to convert the pool and build a garden for a few reasons. Nobody really used the pool. The pool required liters of chemicals and tedious labor to keep it clean and chlorinated. Also, the pool area was hot, lacked shade, and often flooded during the rainy season.

As a solution, I proposed they convert the pool into a sunken garden of container plants. It could be a calming venue rather than a waste of valuable growing space. I designed a series of connected, naturalistic container gardens. We chose fast-growing trees, shrubs, and groundcovers that flourish in containers. The pool was drained of its chlorinated water. Raised beds and container gardens were installed inside the empty pool and along the cement walls. Vines were trellised above the pool and vertical container gardens were attached to poles and tree trunks.

Over ten years later, the plants thrive and perform essential environmental functions. They absorb heavy rains and stormwater. The area never floods. Residents, visitors, and local wildlife frequently rest in the garden’s shade and cooler temperature. Year-round, the air temperature is much lower than roads and houses outside the property’s perimeter.

In your space, assess your site and its capacity to hold container gardens. If possible, explore if any space can be converted to display raised beds or groups of container gardens. Be Open to the eco-resilient benefits you can receive. Cleaner Air, Cooler Temperatures, Relaxation, and Less Stormwater Damage awaits you.

Steps lead to a converted pool full of lush raised beds and groups of containerized ornamental and native plants.
Image gallery image
Coconut Shell Planters
Fishnet Raised Bed
Recycled Bottles

Containers can range from fishnet raised beds, recycled containers, ceramic and plastic pots, hanging coconut shell planters, and other container types available in your area.

Explore vertical spaces in your urban site. Vines and climbing plants are incredibly valuable and prolific growers in our urban tropical climate. As the vines mature, they absorb pollution, increase privacy, and improve air quality.

If you’re interested on more tips for container plant care, check out these articles. Enjoy and I hope you are encouraged to grow your own urban eco-resilient oasis or add to your surrounding network of greenspaces.

Related Articles

NEW GARDEn DESign Ebook! ORDER & Download today!

Click here to Download FREE Garden Guides

Learning from Local & Regional Parks

Featured by Healing Present Nature & Wellness Center, posted in agroforestry, Gardening and Landscape Design, Outdoor Classrooms, Outdoor Classrooms, Therapeutic Garden, wildlife garden

By Michelle Domocol @inflourish_
Back to Inflourish: Cebu Blog

Local parklands in Cebu and Southeast Asia are cradles of botanic inspiration. Often, well-designed parks use regionally native or locally endemic trees and shrubs. Depending on the availability of their seedlings in public nurseries, you could use a few of these same trees or shrubs in your garden. They can be a spectacular eye-catching feature or hedge in your own gardens. Regionally native, indigenous, or locally endemic refers to a plant’s genetic origin and natural geographic distribution. In the scientific community, these terms have slight technical differences. Among some foresters, park managers, and horticulturists, these terms can be interchangeable. Native or Endemic can mean a plant originally grew in the coasts, forests, riverbanks, or other ecological niches in Cebu. Or maybe the plant was originally found throughout the mangroves or rainforests of the Philippines. Local, Native, or Endemic can also mean the plant naturally grows in Maritime Southeast Asian countries like Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

REMEMBER: make sure you have the time, water, and soil type to help your native plant thrive. For instance, you can buy the most locally native vine from Cebu’s uplands. But if it’s neglected and left unwatered on your concrete patio, the stressed vine may shrivel and die.

Be curious and inspired. Visit the lush splendor of local parks in Cebu and venture to the rest of Southeast Asia.

In general, choosing locally or regionally native trees and shrubs creates a strong, adaptable landscape. A combination of native plants function well with local climate and rain availability. As a result, they need less growing assistance from additional fertilizers or pesticides. When the trees or shrubs are well-established, local birds, bees, butterflies and beneficial pollinators can use these plants as a source of nectar and shelter. Often, the fallen leaves and roots of regionally endemic plants naturally mulch and enrich the soil’s health. Depending on the particularly adaptive species, they can have additional qualities like drought-resistance and wind-resilience. With a bit of research and a fun search through local parks, you can find extremely gifted trees and shrubs.

The examples below are popular regionally and locally endemic species suited to Cebu’s climate. They are best planted in the rainy season so they start out with a moderate amount of water and sun. Plants in this list also flourish in other islands of the Philippines and Southeast Asian countries.

  • PALMS & RATTAN TREES:
    • A- Arenga pinnata
    • B– Adonidia merrilli
    • C- Calamus erinaceus
    • D- Calamus javaensis
    • E- Caryota mitis
    • F- Oncosperma horridum
  • EVERGREEN & FLORAL TREES:
    • G- Aporosa benthamiana
    • H- Aporosa frutescens
    • I- Commersonia bartramia
    • J- Cratoxylum cochinchinense
    • K- Dillenia excelsa
    • L- Dillenia philippinensis
  • EVERGREEN & FLORAL TREES:
    • M- Diospyros buxifolia
    • N- Diospyros diepenhorstii
    • O- Syzygium zeylanicum
    • P- Syzygium incarnatum
    • Q- Syzygium antisepticum
    • R- Sterculia foetida
  • EVERGREEN & FLORAL TREES:
    • S- Sterculia macrophylla
    • T- Sterculia oblongata
    • U- Elaeocarpus grandiflorus
    • V- Elaeocarpus pedunculatus
    • W- Elaeocarpus petiolatus

Plant Photos: WikiMedia Images, NParks Singapore, Co’s Digital Flora of the Philippines; Design Illustrations: Michelle Domocol

Related Articles

NEW GARDEn DESign Ebook! ORDER & Download today!

Click here to Download FREE Garden Guides

April & May, Explore & Play

Featured by Healing Present Nature & Wellness Center, posted in Color Combo & Design, Container Garden, Food Garden, Gardening and Landscape Design, Herbs, Outdoor Classrooms, Outdoor Classrooms, Raised Beds, School Gardens

By Michelle Domocol @inflourish_
Back to Inflourish: Cebu Blog

April and May are wonderful months to plan fun garden activities for upcoming school breaks. If you have summer school students, children, nieces and/or nephews, plan a garden. Or arrange a fieldtrip to child-friendly gardens, parks and/or playgrounds. These landscapes are excellent venues for playtime, nature exploration, and family bonding. Here are some fun ideas to inspire some fun kid-centric adventures in a garden, park, or playground.

  1. SENSORY GARDENS: Build a sensory garden or add sensory plants to an existing garden. Sensory gardens feature plants that stimulate children’s observation skills and imagination. Together, you can choose plants that possess leaves with vibrant colors or leaves with unique shapes. Greenery with notable textures, amazing aromas, delicious fruits, and/or extreme sizes. To stimulate a garden visitor’s auditory senses, choose plants that attract local songbirds or chirping geckos. Some examples are these sensory-stimulating flora are multi-colored San Francisco, 30-meter tall Tipo trees with their unique, lobed leaf shapes, or Ilang-Ilang with fruity fragrance that travels throughout the afternoon. Other examples are native sensory marvels are trees like Bangkal (Nauclea orientalis), Katmon (Dillenia philippinensis), and Almaciga (Agathis philippinensis). For more kid-centric plant combinations and sensory garden design suggestions, check out:
The sensory garden design above features plants like colorful ornamental gingers, duwaw, trellised passionfruit vines, potted native berries, and potted ilang-ilang.

2. EDIBLE APRIL & MAY: With your enthusiastic students and youth gardeners, you can plant herbs, berries and vegetables. They can use my planting calendar to choose what seeds to plant and add to the garden. If you want to learn more about April berries to plant, check out April’s Dessert Garden. During these hot and dry months, use smart water conservation techniques like mulching, drip irrigation, and if you saved water during the rainy season, it’s time to use your rainwater storage tanks. You can also check out your local children’s gardening events through facebook groups, churches, or barangay hall events.

>>>>Download planting calendar
>>>>Download cebu pollinator plants

3. COOL, STARRY NIGHT GARDENS: Plan a garden that you and the kids can enjoy at night. Sometimes summer days can be too hot. Evenings in the garden, under the stars, are much more enjoyable. Add fragrant, night-blooming water lilies, vines and shrubs to your garden. Choose shrubs that emit strong evening fragrances. Night fragrant orchids, cacao flowers and Dama de Noche jasmine are excellent examples. Or plant a raised bed with night-blooming cacti and flowers that attract the often-overlooked nocturnal pollinators. Flowers like night-blooming phlox, angel’s trumpet, Queen of the Night cactus, honeysuckle, and evening primrose invite amazing local bats and moths. These nighttime gardens are great spots for children to run around and explore. They are also beautiful venues for outdoor parties with the whole family.

Enjoy the rest of April and hope you have a blooming start to May!

Related Articles

NEW GARDEn DESign Ebook! ORDER & Download today!

Click here to Download FREE Garden Guides

March Moments of Serenity

Featured by Healing Present Nature & Wellness Center, posted in Color Combo & Design, Container Garden, Food Garden, Gardening and Landscape Design, Herbs, Therapeutic Garden

By Michelle Domocol @inflourish_
Back to Inflourish: Cebu Blog

For many of us and our loved ones, March has been punctuated by international conflicts and frightful world news. Thankfully, nature is respite. Despite humanity’s conflicts, this month, in our forests and gardens, nature continues to bring warm yellow sunrises, flowering fruit trees in the afternoon, and moonlit evenings. The gardens momentarily shield us from the chatter of work pressure and overwhelming world events. I’m grateful for the ever-flowing peace plants offer in times of grief, anxiety, and confusion. Even neuroscience studies confirm our brains relax when we gaze at grand tree canopies overhead, slowly walk barefoot through a garden, or breathe in sweet floral aromas.

In this article, I also share excerpts from the Serene Garden from my book, Inflourish: Cebu Garden Designs. I hope this inspires you to briefly escape your phone apps. March in the garden to mellow out. Spend a peaceful day in nature or go build your own version of the Serene Garden.

In the Serene Garden design below, you can lounge amongst raised beds filled with bountiful Citrus trees, flowering Kamuning, Orchids, and other gorgeous greenery. This design can be installed on a backyard deck, roof space or patio. Beyond the greenery, a small relaxing pond is adorned with horsetail reeds and gabi. This garden elegantly combines edible vegetation with living décor. Apart from lounging, you can harvest seasonal Limes and Limonsito. Or pick a romantic bouquet of Saging-saging flowers, fern leaves, and Kamuning blossoms to brighten someone’s day.

Serene Garden design with detailed plant maps below.

Related Articles

NEW GARDEn DESign Ebook! ORDER & Download today!

Click here to Download FREE Garden Guides

Tree Leaf Treasures

Featured by Healing Present Nature & Wellness Center, posted in agroforestry, Container Garden, Food Garden, Gardening and Landscape Design, Herbs, wildlife garden

By Michelle Domocol @inflourish_
Back to Inflourish: Cebu Blog

How is the start of 2026 so far? I hope it’s been joyous and full of growth. I’m happy to return after taking a little pause from blogging. The past two months were full of rest, infrastructural rebuilding, and recovery from the 2025 storms and earthquakes.

In this month’s article, let’s take a fun tour of the multi-beneficial and ultra-resilient edible trees in Healing Present. Balimbing, Gumamela, Kamunggay, Mulberry, and Curry Leaf trees and shrubs produce tasty leaves throughout the year. These evergreen trees and shrubs can produce low-growing limbs short enough for me to easily harvest their leaves. Plus, the readily available tree leaves are delicious substitutes when ordinary vegetables are unavailable, too expensive, or low-quality at the local market.

During the earthquakes, landslides, and typhoon, we temporarily lost road access to markets. Luckily, we could turn to our hardy, nutritious edible trees for an emergency food supply. Yes, we had emergency packaged snacks. Unfortunately, they are vitamin-deficient. They’re also consumed quickly when people are stressed, waiting for electricity, emergency services, or road access.

All of these tree leafy treasures are somewhat mild in flavor and easily absorb a recipe’s sauces and spices. I usually steam, airfry, or boil them. Around the world, they are featured in stews, soups, seafood, roasted meat dishes, and even desserts. With or without a disaster, I love adding the yummy foliage to my meals. They are essential for flavor, fiber, and for my meal sequencing practice.

Everyday, I practice meal sequencing to stop any blood sugar spikes. Tree leaves and vegetables are my daily appetizer. Meal sequencing just means eating an all-vegetable appetizer, then munching on proteins and fats second, and then completing the meal with starchy foods, carbs, or desserts. So basically I’ve stopped eating starches like bread and rice at the beginning of my meals. If you’re interested in learning about meal sequencing, here are a few recent articles on how it regulates blood sugar and natural hunger hormones: 1, 2, 3.

Conceptual layout of a seated area with potted shrubs and a lush garden border of edible trees and wild groundcovers.

Here I’ll focus on the delicious trees and shrubs at Healing Present that

  • produce fast-growing leaves,
  • form tall trees or low-growing shrubs for an easy harvest,
  • adapt to most soils
  • enhance wildlife and bird habitat, and
  • can resist floods and storm winds when planted properly.

Apart from the obvious nutrition and ecological functions, all the trees below are integral to ancient traditional medicine and present-day pharmaceutical research. They are truly beneficial for our health and environment.

Kamunggay (Moringa olifera)

Kamunggay is a versatile vegetable in soups like Utan Bisaya and other Filipino stews. The feathery leaves and flowers flavor my soups, juices, steamed dishes, sauces, and pestos. When I drank my first kamunggay smoothie, I learned the raw leaves become sweeter when blended. What a delight! Without blending, the taste remains mild or peppery.

Kamunggay leaves are widely used for water purification, beverages, savory meals, desserts, and packaged health snacks. If you’re unfamiliar with Kamunggay, use it like spinach. Outside of my kitchen, people in Latin America and other parts of Asia eat it raw or powdered. Different countries prefer to consume the leaf, flower, root, bark or the seed depending on the desired flavor and recipes.

Balimbing (Averrhoa carambola)

Balimbing leaves tend to live in the shadow of their popular golden yellow star-shaped fruit. I never underestimate the bright-green leaflets. They are thick, crisp leaves that flourish throughout the year at Healing Present. I also like to stir-fry them with garlic, ginger, spring onions and pepper. The leaflets can season steamed fish and roasted chicken dishes. And, of course, the fruit is enjoyed in desserts and drinks. Beyond my dinner plate, the leaves are commonly used in traditional medicine in Brazil, Malaysia and China.

Gumamela (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Gumamela leaves are one of my favorite leafy greens. In Healing Present, the tooth-edged, glossy leaves regularly grow to 10-inches in width. I prefer to chop them before adding them to a bit of boiling water. As you stir the leaves, a natural thickening gel appears. The gel is a natural version of adding corn starch to thicken soup or chop suey. I also consume the flowers for added color and texture. Marveled for their beauty and medicinal properties, Gumamela was also consumed in ancient African herbal treatments, Ayurvedic teas, and traditional Chinese medicine.

Curry leaf (Murraya koenigii)

In Healing Present, curry shrubs grow around the greenhouse, on our terraced gardens, and in our raised beds. Many of them multiply and grow without our initiative. Curry leaves make delicious air fried vegetable chips. Add a spice mix, sauce, or oil when frying or roasting the curry leaf chips. I also add them to vegetable stews, lentil dishes, rice, and fish. Around South and Southeast Asia, curry leaves are featured in raw or cooked recipes. Apart from their culinary roles, they are integrated in chronic illness treatments, religious ceremonies, and cultural traditions.

Mulberry (Morus spp.)

Mulberry leaves are appetizing greens for my daily soups and sauté vegetables. I also like to grill chicken or beef cuts wrapped in glossy mulberry leaves. You can add the young leaves to vegetable platters, sandwiches, stir fries, meat stews, and seafood dishes. While, older leaves can be air fried for chips and dried for teas. At the farm we enjoy a mix of red and black mulberry varieties.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the mulberry root, leaf, seed, and leaf are used to treat conditions.

So if you’re looking for multi-beneficial trees that are easily adaptable and serve an emergency or year-round food reserve, consider growing these 5 tree/shrub species. Find nurseries that sell them as mature saplings so you don’t have to wait too long for your regular supply of life-giving leafy greens.

Photos of Leaves from Wikimedia Commons.

Related Articles

NEW GARDEn DESign Ebook! ORDER & Download today!

Click here to Download FREE Garden Guides