A mother’s gift to Mother Nature

Most mothers would have a garden at home. And be it ever so humble, there’s no place like a garden fashioned by a mom’s loving hands, whether she has a green thumb or not.  But this one that we recently visited, snugly tucked away in a lush hillside haven in Baguio, is not just a mother’s garden; it is a mother’s gift to Mother Nature.

“God has been very kind to me, it is payback time,” says the soft-spoken Therese Jison with a glow in her eyes.  “I wanted to help the young — first, to understand and respect nature, so there are the plants and the animals. And then there are the crafts, such as the weaving and pottery, which offer a respite from the computers.”

From garden plot to cooking pot

A loving mom and a doting grandma, Therese was also inspired by her granddaughter, now 11, to create a garden paradise that is Mother’s Garden.

Mother’s Garden blends nature, art, culture, and cuisine in all of a two-thousand-square-meter area.  To show off the culture of the Cordillera region, there’s an Igorot house sitting amid a miniature rice terrace. Pottery, painting, and Igorot dances highlight the northern highlands’ art and culture.

Picture flowering gardens (you, too, will love the tulips), flowing water, a fishpond, a circular salad garden with a variety of lettuces, tea terraces with green tea and tarragon infusion, and an herb garden painstakingly carved through terraces of the otherwise steep land. Mother’s Garden boasts Mediterranean and Asian herbs — name it, they probably herb it. There’s the chef’s garden, too, teeming with tomatoes, onions, beans, radishes, carrots, and other vegetables that go from the garden plot to the chef’s cooking pot.

Your soil mate

Mother’s Garden showcases bio-dynamic gardening and guarantees that only organic vegetables, pork, and chicken are served at the dining outlets that source most of the ingredients for cooking from its gardens (more on this in a bit). Taking care of these lovely organic gardens is Dr. Jose Balaoing, PhD organic agriculture and soil scientist, who makes sure that no pesticides, fertilizers, and chlorine are used in Mother’s Garden (there’s a lab that manufactures natural pesticides, micronutrients, teas, and vermi-compost for use at Mother’s Garden).

A retired dean of Benguet State University and now head of a government-sponsored organic organization, which helps organic farmers, Dr. Jose Balaoing is a very unassuming, down-to-earth person who is highly respected for his knowledge and groundbreaking research.

Therese describes Dr. Balaoing as “a very helpful man who does not ask for anything in return.” Since he did not have funds to bank on, Therese built for him a little laboratory where he could pursue his obsession for organic research.

Mother’s garden’s pet project

Imagine a barn where rabbits, chickens, sheep, pigs, pigeons, and ducks live in peaceful harmony like a family. Unleash the inner child in you — go ahead and pet the animals or feed them with the organic stuff that abounds in the place. There’s a pair of geese named Pepe and Pilar, and a lone sheep who’s been orphaned as his family just passed away due to the cold spell. And there’s little Miss Piggy Michelle. A friendly tip: Remember to always be kind to the animals and be nice to the guy who takes care of them, veterinarian Dr. Eric Evangelista.

Mother’s Garden is truly a great family destination to nurture children’s love of nature. The kids will surely love the playground that’s got a castle, swings, a slide, and educational toys.

And if all these activities should make you really hungry, Mother’s Garden offers a lot of dining areas that serve from sandwiches to tapas to healthy organic meals: the Courtyard that can seat 40 diners amid a family environment; the Zen garden with its serene ambience fit for an intimate group of 15; the Patio, good for 10 guests who can enjoy an exhilarating view of Baguio City while they wine and dine; and the Panorama, a 20-seat fine-dining resto with an awesome 180-degree view of Baguio that’s even more beautiful at night.

“Except for some ingredients, we serve organic food — vegetables, seafood, poultry, and meat,” Therese shares.

She adds, “Our menu is small because we took away the slow-moving ones, so what’s left are all the bestsellers. Yes, we give away our recipes and the menu is local and Italian. Cost per person varies from P300 to 600. But we have fine dining by reservation only on the second floor that serves from P600 to P1,500 per person.”

Therese, who took up culinary courses in Europe and the USA (she’s currently in Europe to further hone her cooking skills), personally cooks for the fine-dining outlet.

Another of Therese’s advocacies is honing fresh graduates who normally have a hard time getting jobs. “We train and pay
them minimum wage, give them meals and uniforms and, in six months, they are hired for abroad, and this makes me so happy.”

Happiness is written all over our faces as we help ourselves to the organic offerings generously laid out on the table at the Courtyard: the most colorful organic salad picked fresh and crisp from the salad garden; a mountain of sooo-good suman; a platter of the sweetest, reddest strawberries I have ever seen and tasted; and a humongous plate of palitaw lavished with toasted sesame seeds.

Surely, Mother’s Garden has something to nourish the body and nurture the soul.

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It’s not easy to find Mother’s Garden as it’s off-the-beaten track. Just follow these directions: Mother’s Garden is just 15 minutes from Baguio City Hall. From City Hall, take Naguilian Road (Quirino Highway), cross Bokawkan, Ferguson, and Road 1 (Escoda). Turn right on Quezon Hill Road 2 (Pilar Lim) just before the Arc. Cross Arciaga St., turn right on Ponce St. (landmark: waiting shed), which is a winding road. At the end of Ponce St. is the Quezon Hill Proper outpost, turn right on Road 1, then left on the first street to Fairview Road, and make an immediate right just before the waiting shed on Upper Fairview Road. Don’t be intimidated by the steep-looking road, which is 20 meters long. Did we have a hard time looking for Mother’s Garden? Certainly not! We had an expert driver, Heinrich Maulbecker, managing director of The Manor, who knows every curve of the road, the ins and outs of the city like a Baguio-born native.