A tribute to a horticultural friend

One of the attractions of any hobby is meeting other enthusiasts who share similar passions. Through the exchange of viewpoints, experiences, techniques, hobby material or just plain camaraderie, interacting with fellow collectors is a key element that keeps our hobbies that much more interesting. In the Cactus & Succulent Society of the Philippines, one of our most active and inspirational members was Rodolfo Ranjo.

Rudy was born 63 years ago in Laoag City, the 8th/9th of 10 siblings. I say 8th/9th because Rudy had a twin brother, and I don’t know who came first. Rudy was always the sensitive, artistic member of the family. He had a penchant for music and chess, but his real passion was for plants. Rudy had worked as an architect with the National Power Corporation before leaving for abroad. His wife, Pina, also worked at Napocor. Upon his return, he decided to put up a plant and horticulture business and devote all his time to this endeavor.

Rudy thrived in the horticultural world. He became a successful landscape architect, and his green thumb helped him raise all kinds of ornamental plants. He first joined the Philippine Horticulture Society and a few other garden clubs. He joined the Cactus & Succulent Society in 1986. Cacti and succulents became his passion, and he focused his latest endeavors on this group of ornamentals. Another passion was searching for natural stones which he fashioned into all sorts of shapes and used to decorate and spice up his landscaped garden designs.

Rudy was a pillar of the Cactus & Succulent Society. He was elected vice president from 1996 to 1997, and again from 2000 up to the present. In almost all the plant exhibits of the Society, Rudy played a key role. Together with Serapion "Met" Metilla and Toto Adviento, Rudy executed numerous landscaping exhibits, utilizing cacti & succulents as the primary showcase plants. He was involved in the development of the C&S exhibit at the Manila Zoo, right after the zoo’s main entrance. He was also involved in the 800- square-meter Cacti Conservatory in the Paskuhan Village in San Fernando, Pampanga, as part of Florikulturathe International Plant Exhibit of the Department of Tourism. I visited that exhibit, one of many who were impressed with the meticulous work involved and the beauty of the plants set in a desert setting. Rudy was a key member of the team which worked for almost a year on this exhibit.

In later years, Rudy became the master landscape artist for all the exhibits, which the C&S Society entered. His last exhibit was in January 2003 during the annual show of the Philippine Horticultural Society. In this event, our Society took 3rd place for the "Best Booth Category." Rudy’s hard work undoubtedly contributed to the increasing popularity of this group of ornamentals.

I’ve known Rudy since I rejoined the C&S Society in the early ’90s. He was always present in our meetings, and always contributed his sage thoughts in his quiet, unassuming manner. He was a resource speaker on numerous occasions, and both newcomers to the hobby as well as seasoned veterans like myself listened intently to his contributions. I featured our society back in June this year in this column. It would be the last time I would see Rudy.

It was quite a shock when I received a text message from Lily Ann Tan Manzano informing me of Rudy’s sudden passing on August 1. Later that day, I received an emotional call from our society’s president, Mely Ileto-Sibayan, informing me of the same sad event. We were all hit hard by this totally unexpected development. Rudy seemed to be in good health. Our society and our hobby has lost a loyal friend and major force. To honor Rudy, the C&S Society presented his family a Posthumous Award of Recognition for all his hard work and significant contributions.

We will miss you, Rudy. Godspeed.