Baguio City Botanical Garden: Blooms and More with Sprinkles of International Touches

I was in a grey blouse… like how grey our moods have been during that time. We were going through a gloomy season of our lives. She suggested we go out to see some new parks. Burnham was nearby. But she said the Mines View Park and Botanical Garden represented something else. It was farther from our previous apartment. It represented “big change”, like challenging ourselves to look for something brighter and new. Besides, she was into taking photos and said she was going to take some photos of flowers like she always would when she saw them.

So the two of us went. We went first to the Mines View Park before the Botanical Garden.

Botanical Park: A Two Sisters’ First Real Rendezvous

I would have to say it was our first. There was a time when we came here when we were younger. But come to think about it, it was the first time she and I really lingered. I only remembered plants at the park during my first visit here with my family back then. I was not impressed as a kid. Maybe because during that time, I was more interested in seeing malls rather than visiting botanical parks.

We never really got to come here during college on a regular basis too. Back then, it was Camp John Hay, the PMA or somewhere else back then, not so much at the Baguio Botanical Garden. Maybe because it did not have the usual things kids usually wanted, unlike those of other popular theme parks.

What did we stumble upon during our visit that year? Only a few people. Some were dating. Others were taking images. Some were taking their time having a conversation seated somewhere in the botanical garden. Some looked like students who were working on a school group work. I said to myself, what do you know, we also did that back then. It was a common thing in Baguio City to be in parks when you were studying with your roommates or classmates.

The most memorable part was the tunnel for me for this visit. My sister who went there in August 2015 during a rainy day was able to grab a photo of a male and a female who must have been dating ( I remember putting her edited version of that picture up on my bedroom wall at our last apartment as a reminder later that we went on an inspiration trip).
On the way to the tunnel. I also remember stone statues that were a part of the Japanese Filipino Peace Memorial Park. I said to myself, they were just so lovely lined up on the walkway like that. It was an invitation to serenity.

As for the inside of the tunnel, I saw why people were not visiting that much. Some parts of the tunnel needed rehabilitation and you can tell by the smell and garbage left on certain sections of the tunnel that some guests were not respecting the space.

Botanical Garden Images – 2015

Botanical Garden Images – 2016

A Bit Of History Since We Came Here In 2013

According to a 2013 news article I was able to dig up online, it seemed like there was a projection that the city would need around P70 million in order to rehabilitate the Baguio Botanical Garden, and that was according to Mayor Mauricio Domogan. That was the same year that my sis and I moved here in Baguio City.

We did notice that development changes were implemented around COVID-19 season. In another online news article in 2022, the city was enticing investors to put their money into some of the government areas of investment and Botanical Garden was one of them.
While we are not really privy about the extent of the negotiations, seeing the Botanical Garden now and comparing it to what we’ve seen before, one can easily tell how people are flocking to visit.

Baguio City has changed drastically and you can easily tell it is attracting investors with the several developments being implemented in the parks alone.

Sharing Some More Recent Photos

To give you an idea of how the Botanical Garden changed since then. Here are some photos that we took in 2022 to the Garden.

The Chinese Zodiac Signs

Taken on August 3, 2022

Botanical Garden Images

Taken on August 3, 2022

Any Challenges When Visiting a Botanical Garden?

If you are a foreigner, you might be better off riding a private transport or maybe the jeep. The GrabTaxi app is also available in the area just in case. Taxis can become expensive, especially with traffic congestion.

There are other tourist destinations that you can visit before visiting the Botanical Garden like Mines View Park, The Mansion, Wright Park, and the Pink Sisters Church. And don’t forget to bring coins. These will come in handy since they’ll ask you to pay for the use of the Comfort Rooms in most destinations like these.

If you want to bring something home, there are souvenir shops at the Botanical Garden. Igorot costume for rent is available just in case you want to take a cultural photo back home with you.

The City Of Blooms Where You Want To Go Home For Good

As I was writing this, a classmate who goes by the name of an Arcangel messaged me. He was telling me how lucky we are to be able to live in Baguio City, for it’s indeed a lot cooler than other cities in the Philippines. He said he wants to visit and just went through a double bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery recently. He is a CABG survivor like his FB profile says.

I saw him online and was glad that he had videos and photos of him exercising. I think a visit here indeed is going to be a refreshing one. It’s a city you can easily fall in love with. In fact, my brother got himself a job here and is now living in Baguio City.

Baguio Botanical Garden is not only full of blooms. It has many features… an ailing body and mind can feel the healing effects of this tourist destination right away.
If you are going to stop by the Botanical Gardens, I promise you, it’s gonna be a fun one. There are international flavours to the walks in this particular garden, with inspiration from various countries. Looking forward to you visiting. This is the place to be if you need some refreshing!

Quick Trivia from Microsoft’s AI Assistant Copilot: “Double bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Double bypass surgery redirects blood around two partially or fully blocked coronary arteries in the heart. It involves harvesting an artery from another part of the body and grafting it into the heart to bypass the blockage and restore blood flow. It’s called “double bypass” because two coronary arteries are bypassed.”