Pangasinan flower farm in full bloom on Instagram

Asingan, Pangasinan, Philippines — In a serene and bucolic countryside here rose a new Instagrammable agri-tourism place where flowers in full bloom are in harmony with fruit-bearing trees.

About one kilometer away from the provincial road in Barangay Carosucan Sur, the Asingan Farm and Flower Garden Hideaway Park, which opened its doors to the public on Dec. 12, has been attracting tourists, both local and foreign.

Carosucan Barangay Captain Emmanuel Sapigao’s family owns the sprawling 30-hectare farm.

In an interview with The Star, Sapigao said they transformed the place into something his family and friends could go to to relax, breathe fresh air and spend quality time with each other in a farm setting.

With his siblings now based outside Pangasinan, Sapigao was left to take care of their farm.

In 2013, Sapigao started planting different varieties of mango, citrus, guava, papaya, banana, among others. Later, he planted mulberry, guyabano, passion, and others.

The place then was exclusive to his family and friends. They would take pictures while they were in the farm until he was eventually prodded to open it to the public for everyone to experience life in the farm.

In October last year, he and his wife Jocelyn started to plant flowering plants like sunflower, marigold, zinnia, calachuchi, mayana, camantigue, engcantadora, Vietnam rose, among others in a 900-square meter rectangular area of the farm.

“I was surprised to see people coming in groups from different places after learning about our farm,” Sapigao said.

An average of 1,300 visitors comes to the farm daily to take pictures and post them on their social media accounts. Some pre-nuptial photo shoots were also taken there.

He said it was not his intention to gain economically from the farm as he just wanted a simple and quiet life. 

Sapigao whose first dream was to become a lawyer, said destiny might have led him to nurture his love for farming instead.

He, too, feels excited when he sees their visitors enjoying simple life pleasures like seeing flowers in bloom, picking fruits, chasing for photos of  free-range chickens in the farm, or simply sitting back and relaxing.

The farm offers a pick and pay scheme for people seeking to enjoy the excitement of harvesting fruits of their choice in the farm.

It charges an entrance fee of P30 each for adults while visitors aged four years old and below are free to enter.

They are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. but others want to stay overnight, prompting Sapigao to prepare some tents for rent. Visitors may also bring their own tent for overnight camping.

“Here, we teach people to love nature. Here, we make people realize the value of the farm products they enjoy on their dining table,” Sapigao said.