Joy in the Garden at BJs Seaside

Hello Hive Gardeners!

Days and days in front of the computer submerged in deadlines called for a breather. A weekend anywhere away from the uncomfortable straight-back wooden chair, I'm sitting on as I type this post.

Two dear friends from the UK, Paul @biggypauls and his wife, Koz who recently returned to the Philippines for good planned a trip to the neighboring island of Bohol to discover and enjoy diving sites.

An idea sprung like a cat who landed on a tin roof out of nowhere. Why don't we all stay over for a weekend in Argao before they take the ferry? We could stay over at a bed and breakfast owned by long-time friends, Billy and Joy of BJs Seaside, and enjoy sumptuous meals reconnecting and catching up. Calendars were then marked and accommodations were arranged.

We had no plans of leaving Cebu island. The thought of revisiting the town which was once our home for more than three years was all we needed. I raved about Argao, a first-class municipality in the southeastern part of Cebu in a past post, and in case you'd like to know more about this town, read more about it here.

On the day, Paul and Koz arrived on their motorbikes much earlier than we did. After picking up our daughter from school, we made our way for a 1-hour drive across the mountains just before sunset.

We took a stroll in the plaza while the dinner feast was being prepared and we all admired the Spanish colonial buildings under the canopy of the beautifully scented frangipani trees.

The next morning still giddy from dinner the night before, morning coffee and a refreshing brunch kickstarted the day. Paul and Koz left at 4 am to catch the first ferry to Bohol from the port of Taloot as planned.

A whole day of rest and taking things slow was sweet! Under the blazing sun, I hopped over to the adjacent fenced property of BJs Seaside.

I remember how it was once an empty lot intended for a garage. Below is an aerial photo of how it used to be when the garage was under construction.

Back then there were talks of raised garden beds and chickens.

Joy is an avid gardener. She made efficient use of every nook and corner of their bed and breakfast for ornamental and edible plants.

She successfully managed to grow just about anything even a healthy grapevine that produced sweet green grape variety. It's rare to see grapes growing abundantly in the Philippines but there are articles that suggest it is possible.

Argao is an agricultural town and despite being next to the sea, the fertile soil here is well enjoyed by farmers and home gardeners.

Joy gets up early around 4 -5 am and spends time gardening before playing tennis. This is her daily routine and she continues gardening after the B&B breakfast service.

When we popped in, we found her perched harvesting white radish to make pickled daikon radish. She then happily gave us a tour of her potager.

Joy used mesh to protect the bitter gourds from pests. The fine long beans are also thriving well. There were chickens at the back of the garden generously laying eggs.

She had all kinds of herbs and spices in her garden, sweet basil, holy basil, lemon basil, galangal root, turmeric, ginger, onions, bay leaves, lime, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, rosemary, oregano, philippine lime,spring onions, curry leaves, chillies, capsicum, tomatoes, and the list goes on.

She had passion fruit and dragon fruit growing along the fence.

What was a thrill to see was a local purplish berry that I have never seen nor tried before. Nope it's not duhat nor aratilis.

It's called Tagpo or Ardisia Squamulosa endemic to the Philippines but is spotted as well in other countries such as India, New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

It's slightly sweet with a nutty hint. The plant looked like an ornamental at first glance which grows into a small tree and produces fragrant white or pink flowers. Toss the leaves into a salad bowl, add to dishes like any leafy veggie and enjoy its many health benefits.

One surprise as well was spotting lagundi. I always see the name on herbal cough medicines but to see an actual plant and get acquainted with it was interesting.

Lagundi is known as Vitex negundo or Chinese Chastetree. It's a popular anti-cough natural remedy in the country.

According to Philippine Department of Science and Technology Lagundi is found to be effective in the treatment of respiratory infections. Lagundi has been traditionally used for centuries to cure insect and snake bites, sore throat, ulcers, rheumatism, fever, sinusitis, skin diseases, and cough. After research, development, and clinical studies, lagundi started being used here in mainstream medicine. To see the actual tree with its flowers was pretty enlightening.

We continued the garden visit and spotted many vegetables such as okra / gumbo, eggplants, string beans, and butternut squash, among many others.

The sun threatened to burn even hotter and Joy clutching white radish in hand en route to the kitchen was once again ready to transform the garden produce into a culinary masterpiece. I was happy to find Joy in her garden and that morning brought us the elusive feeling of home after a really long time.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the garden tour as much as I did. I'll give you an eco farm visit next week, also in Argao.

"I am an old soul who simply loves coffee, who finds joy and beauty in both the tangible and the unseen."

@discoveringarni

_{Curiosity and imagination lead to unexpected experiences. Interested in Nature, Places, Roads Less Traveled, Minimalism, Authentic Living, Anything French, and International Cuisine. Feel free to follow her, re-blog, and upvote if you enjoy her content.}