FOUR years ago, the celosia blooms in Elena Sy-Chua’s Sirao Garden became an online sensation. People flocked to it to see a whole field of these flowers—nicknamed the Sto. Niño flowers, because of their orange and red colors. There were so many sight-seers that Elena decided to let the garden grow as it is, for sightseeing, instead of selling the garden blooms as cut flowers, which, at that time, were very much in demand for All Souls’ Day.
Elena—a well-traveled person as she was as an international flight attendant—thought of the tulip gardens of Holland and decided to call her garden Little Amsterdam, putting up a windmill as well. To make sure she has flowers all year round—as some flowers wither after they bloom, like the celosias—she planted other flowering plants like salvia, giant and dwarf sunflowers, marigold, balloon, pink queen, Mickey Mouse, begonias, Cape Plumbago, cockscomb, chrysanthemum, dahlias, Indian clock vine or doll shoes, eucrocia bicolor, lipstick, mayana, cosmos, saging-saging, catharanthus roseus and gladiolas. You may not see all of these when you visit, but you will surely see enough flowers to make your visit worthwhile.
The place also has attracted show business, as some scenes of teleseryes like “Halik” and “Inday Will Always Love You,” and the movie “Kasal,” were shot there. An upcoming teleserye “Magkaagaw” and Asia Novela “Faney Avenue” will also have some scenes filmed there.
Elena is also happy to announce that a visit to her Sirao Garden Little Amsterdam will be one of the highlights of the upcoming Philippine Farm Tourism Conference in November.
To make things even more comfortable for people, the garden now has a private parking lot, and has a pathway for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, so they don’t have to take the steps leading down the garden. Elena also built new male, female and gender-neutral toilets.
So what can you do when you visit Little Amsterdam Sirao Garden?
1. Sit on a butterfly chair at the top of the garden. Relax and have a panoramic view of the place.
2. Go inside the big windmill, which is also a store, to see what souvenirs you can buy.
3. Go up the big windmill to its view deck for a better look of the flowers all around you.
4. See how many flowers you can identify.
5. For close friends and lovers, take a photo by the heart-shaped selfie corner.
6. Go downhill and loll in the hammock; have another view of the garden and watch the clouds roll by.
7. Take selfies inside vintage cars—a Kombi, a Beetle and/or a Minica.
There’s a lot more you can do here with friends and family. But above all, be refreshed by the breeze, by nature’s bounty and her beauty... and yes, perhaps, lift your mind to God, the Infinite, because after all, the place was and is inspired by Sto. Niño de Cebu and His flowers.