(Succulentophile is giving way this week to this article by Peter Bangayan.)
The Cactus and Succulent Society of the Philippines recently held its Christmas party at the residence of the society’s president, Kevin Belmonte, in Tagaytay Highlands. It was one of the largest gatherings of cactus and succulent enthusiasts in the Philippines owing to the record number of new members recruited by CSSP vice president Dory Bernabe, secretary Becky Buenaventura and adviser and founder Serapion Metilla. The society now boasts more than a hundred members, of which about 70 attended the party.
The party was a very informal one, as is usual with almost all of the society’s affairs. It started with a talk by Belmonte about the types of cacti and succulents in his collection and a comparison of how his plants grew in Makati and in Tagaytay. He observed that because of the good air circulation, unobstructed sunlight and larger difference between day and night temperatures, his plants grew much better in Tagaytay. Many plants which had never flowered before in Makati flowered in Tagaytay. After his short talk, the members toured his beautifully constructed greenhouse to look at the beautiful and rare plants in his collection. Within the collection were specialized groups of plants such as Haworthias, Ariocarpus, Turbinicarpus, Aztekium, Obregonia denegrii, Leuchtenbergia principis Copiapoas, rare Mammillarias, Gasterias, Pachypodium and a few other genus. Most of the plants are rare and hard-to-find cacti and succulents.
After the greenhouse tour there was fun and games with Becky Buenaventura playing the role of program emcee. There was comedy role-playing by new members, a song number by members Siony Fajardo and Noni Dolera, and a solo song number by Noni Dolera. There was also a funny dance number initiated by Buenaventura. Games were coordinated by game master Serapion Metilla and there was a contest for the most creative mask. With good food courtesy of club president Kevin Belmonte and the cool Tagaytay weather, the party was a very successful one. The party ended with “exchange gifts” and a plant raffle with plants donated by many members. Many new members who are plant aficionados were very generous in donating plants for the raffle; notable among the rare plants were beautiful Aglonemas by Ed Ladores and his son Eikel, not to mention the rare variegated Sansevieria masonianas they had for exchange gifts. Also two beautiful Philodendrons from Fred Salud, rare grafted yellow Adenium and beautiful pottery from Arid and Aroids owners Neil and Mike Ganigan and Jay Silvestre, variegated agave from Pepito Mercado, many succulent plants from Elvie Peczon, and many others. Towards the end of the party, certificates of appreciation were given by our club president to members Dory Bernabe, Serapion Metilla, Becky Buenaventura, Mely Sibayan, Jeff Patiag, Cesar Cheng, Cathy King, Sally Obien and Jesz Vergara for contributing their time and effort to the Cactus and Succulent Society’s many projects and activities. For his numerous generous contributions and for making the public aware of the hobby, club vice president Dory Bernabe gave our club president Kevin Belmonte a certificate of appreciation.