Spring is here
Wait, what?
Alright, before you raise a howl, do find a globe or a world map first and determine the location of the Philippines. You will see that the archipelago sits above the equator, which means that we still lie in the northern hemisphere, and therefore, our seasons are still in compliance with the northern hemisphere's. And if we have Spring, then it also follows that we do have Autumn and Winter, in addition to Summer. It just so happened that many of us reside in the hot tropical lowlands where temperatures are more or less at constant ranges due to our proximity to the equator, and therefore the change of seasons seems to be not so easily apparent. But it is there.
From here I can almost see the look of incredulity in your face. Yes, we do have Winter. But banish from your mind the image that 'winter' is equivalent to the presence of snow, because winter is defined as the period when the Earth is at its farthest from the sun, resulting in shorter days, longer nights, and cooler temperatures. Snow is only an artifact of latitudes nearing both poles- its presence does not define winter. Still, there are places in the Philippines where ice forms due to temperatures dropping low enough to permit their formation, including the Cordilleras of Central Luzon; this explains why the prices of vegetables rise sharply during the Christmas period, because frosts damage a great number of crops being grown in such high elevations. Luzon's highest peak, Mt. Pulag, is known to have sheets of ice to 1 cm thick forming on and near its summit during the month of February, the coldest month in the Philippines. Ice of course does not form in the lowlands, but the cooler temperatures are still apparent during this period. And to add, this year's winter formally ends today, March 21 after setting in last December 22.
And how about Summer, then? Summer begins from June 21 and ends on September 23 in the northern hemisphere, more or less. In contrast to Spring where there are equal hours of sunlight and nighttime, the day hours of Summer are longer which brings about a decrease in nighttime hours. Contrary to the belief of the majority, summer is actually defined too by heightened precipitation, which is brought about by high temperatures and longer day hours. The prevalence of rains during Summer is also seen even in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons do not happen concurrently at the same months as the North's. Summer is not defined by the lack of rains in the same way that Winter is not defined by the presence of snow.
And then we have Autumn, known also as Fall, where crops are harvested and leaves fall. With regards to rice production, harvest occurs twice a year, during the months of May and October, the latter falling within the Autumn season, which begins in September and lasts until December. In the lowland tropics, the effects of Autumn is not often pronounced, with most of the shedding of deciduous trees' leaves occurring during the drier months of Spring, often in preparation for flowering as Spring is the season of flowers and regrowth. In cooler climates, leaf shedding during Autumn happens for a different reason- as preparation for the coming Winter. Maple leaves on the ground are an iconic sight during Autumn. In my collection, those plants that enter dormancy do so during this time- Amorphophallus, Gloriosa, Tacca leontopetaloides, and the deciduous gingers and terrestrial orchids. Growth in other plants also slow down perceptibly during this season.
Going back to Spring, our ancestors already knew about it and had terms for it, in different languages and dialects. In Tagalog it is known as tag-sibol, the period of regrowth and of flowers. Our national tree, the narra (Pterocarpus indicus), flower during this period. Deciduous dendrobiums also show off their spectacular blooms during tag-sibol, and these include the soft cane ones, including the well known sanggumay (Dendrobium anosmum), but also the Himalayan and Indochinese specialties such as D. devonianum, among others. Dendrobium farmeri, featured in this blog, begins its annual show by the very end of Winter, which heralds the arrival of Spring. The well-known and very beautiful Phalaenopsis schilleriana display its majestic sprays of fragrant pink blossoms during spring, but often starting to do so by the end of Winter. Among gardeners of unusual flora, oddities such as the succulent stapeliads flower exuberantly during the months from March to May, and Amorphophallus as well as ginger species that entered dormancy during the Autumn months begin their awakening either by the month of May or the first half of June, but can also overlap at the onset of Summer, at the latter half of that month. Plants such as these know the seasons, but not the exact dates of seasonal changes, and so overlaps are perfectly natural. Enough nitpicking. And if you wish to remember the progression of the seasons, Carole King's 'You've got a friend' should come in handy. You know, that bit that says "Winter, spring, summer or fall..."
Some festivities in the Philippines are observed either in anticipation or the actual celebration of Spring and its bountiful flowers and harvest. In Baguio we have the Panagbenga, which is the city's festival of flowers, with the word deriving from Kankanaey language which translates to 'blooming season'. Panagbenga is held during February, the end of the Winter period. However, the choice of month may have had something to do more with attracting the most number of tourists at a month that is otherwise a low one for tourism, than being an actual celebration of tag-sibol. Baguio's visitors flock at their greatest numbers during the drier months, hence Baguio's designation as the Summer capital of the Philippines, though I really think that very few will even consider going there during Summer, at its strict sense. The choice of February for the Panagbenga may be an effort to extend the peak of Baguio's tourism industry, albeit backwards. In many parts of Benguet, where Baguio is situated, the wild flora is just starting to come back to activity after a period of little growth during the colder months. It is highly unlikely that wild flowers are already blooming in synchrony just when Winter is about to come to a close. Indeed, the flowers paraded during the festivities are from plants of exotic origin, and very few from the native flora, if at all. The Panagbenga was only started a few decades ago, as a means to symbolize the city's rise after the massive damages brought by the 1990 earthquake.
In Lucban in the province of Quezon is another colorful festivity, the Pahiyas which is a celebration of harvests and happens during May 15. However, the same occasion is also celebrated in other towns within Quezon, such as in Gumaca, Sariaya, Tayabas, and Tiaong. Colorful leaf-shaped wafers, evoking the intense hues of new leaf growths and made from rice paste called kiping are used as ornaments on houses' facades during the Pahiyas. Additionally, fruits and other crops are displayed to honor the harvests of Spring. And lastly, forget not that many plant and garden shows around the world take place during Spring.
And so for fellow gardeners out there (at least in the northern hemisphere at this time of the year), let us rejoice at the coming of the new season and take advantage of accelerated growths, a period of coming out from the Winter doldrums and of flowers set ablaze, and fruits ripening and new leaves sprouting. Time to open up the seed packets and prepare their growing beds, and elsewhere, the fruit trays and the vases and the secateurs. Spring is finally here.
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