The gate opens onto a heavily wooded entrance drive. Ahead is a large house, perched on a platform of lawn surrounded by lavishly planted borders of the most exquisite tropical plants you have ever seen. Originally built in 1915 and renovated in 1999, the dwelling was designed along the lines of a modern bahay kubo, sometimes referred to as a nipa hut, after the leaves that are used for the roofs of this kind of abode. The house was the result of a collaboration between Andy Locsin of LV Locsin Partners and Noel Saratan. The garden, except for a new water garden added recently, was the creation of Cecilia Yulo Locsin.
The shaded front entrance with a checkerboard floor also serves as a dining area and viewing spot from where one can admire the garden.
The garden is divided stylistically into three parts: The first part, around the house, is all gentle curves following the perimeter of the property. There is an abundant profusion of copper Acalyphas, thick, leathery Crotons and green and variously-tinged Cordylines backed by stands of Heliconia caribaea ‘Pupurea’ and Rhapis palms. Beneath an impressive kamuning tree (Muraya paniculata) by a natural pond is a giant clump of Osmoxylon geelvinkianum underplanted with purple elephant ears, Chrysothemis pulchella and maroon-colored Aerva sanguinolenta.
Away from the house, the middle part comprises a swimming pool and a patio laid out in piedra China pavers. Structured plantings of Ficus, palms and Dracaena work well with sculptural stone seats; both indicate the presence of the owner’s controlling hand. Garden and water meet and merge here in a new manmade pond designed by Ponce Veridiano. Complementing the design, the shapes become more organic and the planting more natural. Different varieties of bamboo are juxtaposed against boxed forms of Eugenia, Miagos, grasses and aquatic plants; all provide a contrasting play of light and shadows in this delightful area.
The third part of the garden is a large stone patio with a vine-laden stone and wooden arbor and a pond alive with koi. This space, designed by Noel Saratan, was intended as a dining pavilion as well as a reception area.
The abundance of well-established trees— Ficus balete, Saraca, narra (timber trees in the genus Pterocarpus), sea hibiscus, frangipani or Plumeria, as well as mango and santol fruit trees and a wide variety of palms (Bismark, Corypha elata, Areca sp), gives this garden an integral unity and lasting bond with the landscape.
Wide, capiz framed windows look out onto a border teeming with pink ginger or Alpinia purpurata.
A pair of stone benches invites visitors to pause and take a break.
Luscious tropicals are skillfully arranged in beds beneath an old tree.
Thick plantings of green Miagos, Osmoxylon geelvinkianum, contrast with the yellow-green foliage of Philodendrons, maroon ti plants and Acalyphas.
The silver-purple tints of a patch of Strobilanthes dyerianus add subtle color in a bed.
A narra tree, Pterocarpus indicus, commands the landscape. Narra hardwood is purplish and rose-scented; as it is termite resistant, it is a popular wood for furniture and flooring.
A thatched gazebo overlooks a new man-made pond (seen on right from above). Designed by landscaper Ponce Veridiano, it is planted with several varieties of bamboo, clipped Eugenia shrubs, grasses, Osmoxylon geelvinkianum, Sanseviera trifasciata, irises and lotus.
The large stone pavilion with a vine-laden arbor and adjacent koi pond.
A stairway leading to the house is given special treatment with selected ornamental plantings.
A swimming pool with a Jacuzzi is nestled against a backdrop of luxuriant tropical vegetation.
LA VISTA HILLTOP GARDEN
Maria Luisa Subdivision, Cebu
Designed by Jaime Chua and Celine Borja
The large yet inviting house looks out onto a vast scenic panorama of city and mountain views.
A stone balustrade overlooking the city of Cebu reins in the border of clipped ornamental shrubs.
What strikes you most about this garden is the view. Once within its grounds, no other gardens are visible— just sky, mountains, and Cebu City down below. The principal façade of the house gazes outwards to embrace the natural horizon of surrounding hills and mountains. The vertical lines of the trees, the profile of the hills and the huge Mediterranean-style house harmonize with the horizontal lines of the multi-level garden.
The marvelous rear garden with an entertainment area and giant pool spreads like a great viewing gallery, look ing out onto the vast scenic panorama of Cebu. The owners have enlarged their vision and made the country- side part of the garden, playing with the background and distant views and incorporating them into the garden by means of a succession of planes. Understanding that a strict formality would not work here, they have followed a more sinuous, flowing approach. But rather than abandon formal design altogether, they absorbed formal touches such as the level ground, gravel areas, boxed shrubs, and paving into a larger more natural design of curvy lawns, voids and lines of trees and shrubs. They focused on round and circular rather than square and rectangular shapes.
As you walk towards the house, a door on your right opens onto a private garden with round, clipped shrubs. This is the Oriental Garden, designed by Cebu-based landscaper Jaime Chua. A collection of boxed Fukien tea, silver dust (Atriplex halimus), Duranta and Acalypha contrasts with Bromeliads in vats. Chinese statues, including the goddess Kuan Yin, punctuate the border and reinforce the Oriental theme. Access from here to the house’s master suite is marked by tall stands of bamboo. Colorful box forms continue along the border of the garden, contrasting in color as well as shape with the less rigid forms of Schefflera, Euphorbia, Bougainvillea and Crinum lilies.
Away from the house—just adjacent to the driveway, is a secret garden with several water features. You climb down a long flight of marble steps under a canopy of green-colored and variegated-leafed plants until you reach the bottom of the steps, whereupon a small pond and two waterfalls are dramatically revealed. Framed with orchids, tree ferns, ornamental gingers and Bromeliads, these water features enhance the serenity of the place and endow it with magic.
A white pergola newly planted with vines provides shade and structure to the pool area.