Dumaguete City might not be your typical travel destination but the locals still have a lot of things to be proud of – including the Buglasan Festival in October and the Sandurot Festival in November.
Buglasan is actually a festival of the entire province but it is celebrated in Dumaguete City, the capital. Individual booths showcasing the attractions, specialty products, and delicacies of each town or city are built especially for the week-long celebration.
Photo credit: Public Information Office Dumaguete
We also have the ‘Sidlakang Negros’ (Oriental Negros) Village where more permanent ‘booths’ were built some years ago. What do I love best about these booth-like structures? Is it the delicious food they offer? Of course I love those! But i enjoy touring these booths for the great landscape ideas you can find from each municipality or town.
‘Sidlakang Negros’ (Oriental Negros) Village
Photo credit: Public Information Office Dumaguete
I’m sharing here some of my favorite landscape ideas from the 2014 Buglasan Festival.
An upgraded ‘bahay kubo’ with porch
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
My cousins and I all agree that this wonderful ‘bahay kubo’ with porch would make a great addition to a home – that is, if you have space in the yard for one. The porch is a great option but its airy feel is something that really appealed to us. You can simply add chairs and tables inside or opt for sofa beds so this ‘bahay kubo’ can double as guestroom, if you like.
The sand underneath the booth actually makes this one look like the cottage at the Manjuyod sandbar; this sandbar is among the top destinations in the province. Anyway, as a landscaping idea, this is a genius. I am not fond of the sand, however, because there are plenty of cats in the neighborhood. If I were to have a similar cottage built at home, I think I would choose pebbles for the ground, instead of sand.
Nice fishpond
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
There were so many fishponds featured across the booths but this one really caught my attention because of the bamboo and brick enclosure which made the pond look more elegant. The pond, however, was just lined with thick tarpaulin, probably because it will be removed after a week anyway.
If you want this built in your home, then it would be best to use cement just like this other pond option:
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
More options for enclosures
Section off part of your yard by adding enclosures similar to this one. The native material used here makes this portion of the yard still within your garden’s theme yet provides a specific spot for relaxation and fun. The enclosure such as the one used in the photo actually doubles as retaining wall for the sand not to be washed off in the event of rain. Again, the sand could be replaced with pebbles or you could opt to have it landscaped with grass and plants.
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
Other garden features
Now, have you seen a ‘bahay kubo’ whose roof is made of bamboo? Well, this one is – I’m quite amazed. The landscaping was a bit bare on this one but the mounds on the right actually look like chocolate hills; I suppose my phone wasn’t able to do justice to this nice landscape. Chocolate hills mounds are a cool feature to add in the garden; though I think I would prefer to add more plants instead of setting up these hills.
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
I absolutely love to have this in our yard! Why a 2-story ‘kubo’? Well, the lower portion could be a garage of sorts while the upper floor makes a great hangout. Of course, you should have a beautiful garden for this one to really work, but we’ll get to that.
Photo credit: Public Information Office Dumaguete
This beautiful outdoor furniture piece almost made me go bonkers but I didn’t have P35,000 (the price tag says P30,000 if you buy it during Buglasan week). So, I took a picture for future reference. Maybe I can find a carpenter who can make this for just a few thousand bucks (better yet, a few hundred bucks only – you wish!).
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
Alright, I know this one is really not very impressive but to people who don’t have much talent in landscaping (like me!), this is already a good start.
Photo credit: Joy Adalia
If you want a contemporary ‘bahay kubo’, then this one could be a nice choice:
Photo credit: Public Information Office Dumaguete