Twelve seasoned landscapers are vying in the landscaping competition of the Panagbenga Festival 2025 dubbed Panagbengascapes at the Melvin Jones Football Ground, Burnham Park, Baguio City.

PROFESSIONAL gardener Simplicio Sawey tends to his entry in the Panagbengascapes landscaping competition of the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio City. (Zaldy Comanda)

The professional open category landscaping competition is one of the traditional events of the Panagbenga with the theme Blossoms Beyond Boundaries.

This year’s contestants are Panagbenga Landscapes Society members Lina Tindongan, Luisa Comicho, Shierla Gay Ruben, Christine Palongyas, Maria Luisa Pat-ogan, Aguida Dayawen, and Valencia Butale and the Wood, Rock, and Flower Group represented by Elpidio Ngohayon, Troy Cardenas, Agustina Felimon, Aizle Debbie Palgue, and Noel Buhong.

“We are very grateful to Panagbenga because in the more than two decades I have been participating in the competition, we have been given the opportunity to show our landscapes to the public, which serve as an attraction in the celebration and besides, we also earn money, when we do the work,” said Simplicio Sawey, Pat-ogan’s brother. 

Sawey said he competed in the inaugural competition in 1997 inside Camp John Hay and has participated since then.

“When I first started gardening, Panagbenga made a big contribution to my profession, because I was able to participate in various landscaping seminars of the Department of Agriculture and this increased my knowledge in landscaping.” 

Sawey is a three-time champion in the competition in 2006, 2007, and 2009 and also bagged consolation prizes in several editions.

“It’s also a bit difficult to think of innovative landscapes that people will love. Even before this Panagbenga competition came along, I was already thinking about the design of the garden to be pleasing to the public,” Sawey said. 

Panagbengascapes started on Feb. 1 and ends March 2.