Secret garden no more

MANILA, Philippines - The city of Tagaytay is known for a number of beautiful gardens  some are known; many are still hidden. Those that are still hidden get to the consciousness of the public through word of mouth. Take for example the lovely Le Jardin Rosella.

The Zambal street in barangay Neogan in Tagaytay City where Le Jardin Rosella is located is deprived of any indication that somewhere along this short and narrow road is a paradise waiting to be discovered. This paradise is actually an events place, so, according to its very young owner Francesca Rosella “Cucay” Pagdilao, “you get to celebrate life” in this garden. 

You enter Le Jardin Rosella and a calming fountain welcomes you. The gurgling of the water mixes well with the cool breeze in the place. You look around and your emotion will happily drown in admiration as this lush garden, measuring 5,000 sq. m., is all yours to savor and enjoy. The leaves and flowers of the plants sway to the rhythm of the breeze. In this lovely garden, bees and butterflies are common acquaintances and birds provide the natural ambient sound. These and more are included in the many memorable experiences of the people who have been to this events place. Celebrations held at Le Jardin Rosella include weddings and wedding anniversaries, birthday parties, even baptismal receptions. The events place has accredited caterers like the famous Josiah’s Catering (934-2163 or 941-7032).

“The garden is home to over 200 species of plants. We have an impressive collection of palm trees like champagne palm, princess palm, red-orange palm and yellow palm,” says Cucay, who juggles managing Le Jardin Rosella and completing her studies at the UST Conservatory of Music (major in Piano Performance).

(Clockwise, from top left) The pool area of Chateau de Rosella; violet blooms on the way to Rose Petal patio; Cherry Blossom patio; and an ornamental banana bloom. Photos by Joven Cagande

Walking around the garden gives a paradisiacal feel. Your senses will revel at the sight of blooms like love and devotion, pink and white angels, star clusters, poinsettias, patak dugo, roses, snow white, yellow bush, tibus China, bougainvillea and bleeding heart.

The events place of Le Jardin Rosella is divided into four patios. There is the Rose Petal patio that simply evokes grace and romance. The Cherry Blossom patio is inspired by a Japanese garden, replete with beautiful bonsai plants. The Palm Spring patio, located near the fountain area, has a wide green space with palm trees as the accent of the garden. The biggest of all the patios is the Paradiso that resonates bliss amidst its panoramic garden.

Well-manicured are the gardens in these patios. But upon closer scrutiny, you will delightfully find out that nature surely knows how to take its own course as there are some unruly branches and saplings that sprout here and there.

Guests at Le Jardin Rosella can also opt to rent the Chateau de Rosella, a fully furnished country style home perched above the garden. The house comes with an inviting swimming pool, too.

Cucay recalls that the events place started with this family rest house built in 1994. “In 2007,” Cucay says, “we extended the land and made a farm out of it.”

Welcome to Le Jardin Rosella, an events place in Tagaytay City.

The idea of an events place came in 2009. “Seeing how Tagaytay has become quite popular for destination weddings, we started working on our plan right away. In November of 2010, we opened Le Jardin Rosella. We chose a garden-themed venue because aside from the fact that the weather in Tagaytay allows plants and flowers to bloom beautifully, we also thought that it would be nice to have a place designed by nature itself,” Cucay says.

At Cucay’s garden, guests are in for a treat in this paradise that has no fancy architecture  just plants and flowers to decorate the place and give people that elegant and romantic feel.

(Le Jardin Rosella is located at 385 Zambal St., Brgy. Neogan. Tagaytay City. For more information, call 502-6439, 781-9121 or 0908-8861486. You may also log on to www.lejardinrosella.com or e-mail [email protected])

(E-mail the author at [email protected])

Francesca Rosella ‘Cucay’ Pagdilao.