MANILA, Philippines -- When investment banker Ramon ''Monet'' Posadas and banker and socialite Raisa Hechanova married 15 years ago, they moved into a duplex unit located in one of the upscale neighborhoods in Makati City. The place was newly built and it had a small garden and terrace in the rear. An old house once stood on this property but it was torn down to make room for the duplex.
''What remains of the old house is a kalachuchi tree that still stands in the rear garden,'' says Monet. ''My wife and I created the garden we have now from scratch.''
A bonafide plant lover, Monet says his interest in gardening began when he was a student at the Asian Institute of Management. ''One of my classmates was into plants and she gifted me with a potted plant which I had to take care of myself. Tending the plant and watching it grow was very fulfilling and it sort of relieved me from stress,'' he said.
Thus when the newly-married Raisa and Monet moved into their new abode, they started work on turning the small open space they had into a thriving garden. ''At first, I consulted with a prolific landscape designer,'' says Raisa. ''I wanted her to design the garden but it would have ended up too costly.''
So the couple collaborated. It was a fun project and Raisa wanted to fill the open space with colorful flowers. ''But the plants wouldn't bloom,'' says she. ''It turns out our garden couldn't get enough sunlight. The two storey houses, one next door and the other at the rear, prevented sunlight from entering the place.''
''So we had to forget about having flowers in the garden,'' says Monet. ''We settled with potted plants. We had to have plants that can thrive without requiring too much sunlight. We had to buy potted plants so we can move their locations during certain periods. This way, every plant can be exposed to sunlight on certain days.''
The garden is dominated by ferns and bromeliads. The latter is a favorite of Raisa. She says they provide enough color and a kind of grace to the garden. ''And they're very easy to maintain,'' she says.
Monet says they shop for plants in such far-flung places like Bay in Laguna and the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation in Quezon City. They even brought some plants home from a recent vacation in Hawaii. A most recent addition to the garden is a pond with cascading water filled with Koi fish. Raisa is also fond of ornamental fish and has an aquarium in the garden and a larger one in the living room. She already had an aquarium prior to getting married.
Although the husband and wife are still quite busy with their respective careers, they always find time to tend to the place they both created. They also get help from a gardener who drops in once a week. Looking at the result of their collaboration, the garden looks as if it was the work of a professional designer. But they did it themselves. The garden is complete - it's thriving with tropical plants, a fully-grown kalachuchi, a pond and beautiful cages that house such colorful little birds.
''And we even have a banana tree!'' laughs Raisa. ''I can't believe that we actually we have one here. It was a gift from Monet's old friend from Davao three years ago. The friend has a farm there. I thought it wouldn't fit in here but somehow it does. And since then, I've learned a lot about the idiosyncrasies of banana trees.''
The banana tree is more than five feet tall. Its big leaves hang with a certain grace, which makes it blend with the graceful bromeliads and ferns. The couple planted a vine on the kalachuchi tree and the vine blooms with white flowers. The overall effect looks elegant and it makes the garden feel so relaxing to be in. Also, the place clearly reflects the refined taste and creativity of the couple. This is also evident in the interiors of the house, which is cozy and furnished with modern furniture that also sport the classic look. The living room is adorned with various mementos from the couple's various trips abroad, and paintings by such renowned artists like Rafael Cusi.
But tending the garden is a hobby they can do together. So passionate is Monet about gardening, he even takes time out to take care of the garden of his in-laws. ''Sometimes, though, we disagree on where some of the plants should be placed,'' says Raisa while laughing. ''I place a pot on a particular spot, and later Monet moves it to another spot! It happens almost every day!''
