There always seems to be an abundance of fresh flowers for sale in Cebu City. Roses there seem more like the hobbyist’s garden varieties, rather than the commercially grown (heartless or is it soul-less) ones more common in Manila. Cebu roses open more fully, come in a spectacular range of colors, and they actually smell like roses. And they are almost always so incredibly well priced. For some reason the yellow roses here are just spectacular, albeit on the small side, but a vase filled with say 4-5 dozen of them never fails to lift spirits. In the past couple of decades, however, chrysanthemums seem to have become the most popular choice, probably because they are so hardy and reliable. Chrysanthemums have always struck me as being wake or funeral flowers, particularly the yellow or white ones, but they have somehow (together with their more colorful cousins) crept into the local ornamental cut flower scene… including weddings!, and I have always wondered where and how they were grown…

Vendors who were asked, almost always answered that the flowers came from the mountains of Busay, where the weather is cooler and the growing conditions ideal for mums, as they are known to most.

So anyway, if you were curious, and can spare a leisurely 1-2 hour “paseo” to Busay to check out the flower and vegetable farms, I would recommend it…