Sonya's: A garden for a reason

Is it possible to celebrate life once it is lost?     It is difficult to appreciate life when you have just experienced a loss. We ask ourselves, will it ever become easier? However, there are some magical sanctuaries whose beauty and grace assuage our hurts and pains, a place where healing and nurturing happens gracefully.

Sonya’s Garden in Alfonso, Cavite is my nirvana, a blessed haven that I hie off to every occasion whether it’s for the birthday of my sister Jaqui, which falls on Christmas Eve, my birthday, a new year with the family, the wedding of a friend or anniversary of a relative. But retreating to this idyllic paradise after the recent burial of the father of my best friend Bum Tenorio, whom we fondly called Tatay, was an unforgettable and cathartic experience. It then dawned on me that one need not wait for any occasion or celebration to come to Sonya’s Garden. This place is the occasion itself.

The sun was just beginning to set when I arrived. I knew that after the solemn funeral, I needed to proceed to a place that declares life, love, warmth and cheer. At Sonya’s Garden and Bed & Breakfast, every flowering bud of yellow bell, orange cosmos, butter plant; every fleeting butterfly and buzzing bee; each meticulously designed pathway declares life the way it ought to be proclaimed — evolving, healing, satisfying, gratifying. Do you know that there are nocturnal flowers that only exude their fragrance after sundown? 

I remember how Sonya Garcia nostalgically shared the story of how her loving Mama Merced roused her from sleep when she was five years old to let her witness the purely white “queen of the night cactus” with its enigmatic scent that unfurls its petals at midnight. I was looking for this flower among the so many varieties — cleome, morning glory creepers, begonias, pink butterbrush, impatiens, nasturcions, palo santo, jade vine, New Guinea creeper, moonflower. My lone companion that night was Sonya’s newly released book where a quote from Diane Ackerman reads: “Even when I’m feeling low, I can always find solace in nature, a restorative in dealing with pain. Wonder heals through an alchemy of the mind.”

The gracious and vivacious innkeeper Sonya was in Ilocos Norte that weekend but her staff lovingly cared for me like she was there. After all, her presence is the fragrance from every beautiful creation that is found there.

I entered the charming bed and breakfast, with its 14 bucolic cottages named Lavender, Thyme, Mint, Chamomile, Marjoram, Rosemary, Dill, Sage, Basil, Fennel, Borage, Parsley, Licorice and Dandelion. Choose any of these cozy and dreamy lodgings replete with immaculately white comforters with floral embellishments, antique lamps, wooden chests, insightful books, perfumed pillowcases with sprigs of lavender and ylang-ylang. I listened to the rustle of the wind, the gently falling leaves and petals of the flowers in bloom. There seemed to be a magical dance of nature and all its treasures. As darkness cloaked the picturesque bed and breakfast village, which resembles the ones in Provence, I walked down the romantically lit pathways where quaint lamps illumined the stone laden pavement. Partly covered by the lush foliage and garden lawn, the lights on the walkway as well as in those hanging from glass bottles on the trees created the mis-en-scene that brought to mind perpetual blessings under the crescent moon.

What is evident is that the fragrance that permeates the air is not confined to the lavish gardens — the hint from fresh lavender sprigs under the fabrics you unfurl on, the lemon minty shampoo from Ilog Maria, the bowl of scented water that you dip your fingers in as you sign on Sonya’s welcome book using rose scented ink. When you pass the charming bakery, the aroma of cheese and Spanish bread, chocolate cookies and mongo hopia wafts in the air as well.

I felt a heavy emptiness knowing Bum and his family were in great pain as I silently whispered prayers for them. May the good Lord bless them with courage and strength to live each day without Tatay, the sun in their universe. He had been a constant force of love and joy in their home, only time can alleviate the pain in their hearts and minds.

Being in Sonya’s Garden truly helped me connect with what really matters — peace of mind, inner joy, strength and courage in the Lord who makes all things beautiful in His time. Though some people use the terms happiness and joy interchangeably, there is a vast difference in their meaning. As soon as difficulty arises and pain intrudes, a person ceases to be happy. On the other hand, joy is a gift from God that enables believers to find hope and peace — even when life seemingly falls apart.

At Sonya’s Garden, how can you not stop to consider the amazing blessings that are yours in Christ? Gratitude will most likely overwhelm you. Sadness concerning circumstances may still endure, but the joy of the Lord will carry you through even the most difficult trial. The fireflies outside my window accompanied me through the long, solitary night. Before retreating to the sweet arms of slumber, I thought how short and fragile life is. Soon, the sun would rise, dusk would turn to dawn and hopefully, things would be easier tomorrow.

Bum’s eulogy at the funeral of Tatay reminded all that we ought to tell our parents and loved ones how much they mean to us and show how much we care every chance we get.

The expression of love is felt at every nook and cranny in Sonya’s Garden. As I wandered around the Conservatory, fashioned after a traditional English garden whose verdant glass enclosure and regulated temperature allow summer or spring to last forever, I felt I was enveloped by the love of nature. At Morning Glory, the stunning glass panels create an eclectic rainbow of flowering vines. There was a wedding taking place at Sunflower, with its tasteful chandeliers and capiz windows located in a plot where wild sunflowers used to tower against the glorious sun. I was about to leave for Manila when Christy, Sonya’s loving staff person, reminded me of my spa treatment.

I proceeded to the rustic Filipino inspired spa haven, its 10 treatment cubicles decorated with nostalgic capiz shell windows and sunlit shower rooms alongside. In this heart and soul of Sonya’s, I was treated to a hilot massage — long loving strokes of healing that led me to a journey of rediscovery. Sonya developed a unique series of treatments using natural ingredients with the same scenic aplomb as in her English gardens. Herbal body scrubs with cream baths cocoon you in comfort and fragrance. Have a dagdagay foot massage using wooden pine sticks applied to the reflex points of the feet. Have a sensational old-fashioned hair spa treatment using gugo and lemongrass or a rose-scented foot scrub with manicure and pedicure with nail art.

Other spa treatments include the fabulous hot stones with Filipino massage, the ventosa, the all-natural facial using honey, tomatoes, cucumbers and aromatherapy steam bath. The spa’s newest offering is a fragrant rice hot compress. While the gracious masseuse performed this authentic Filipino ritual, I prayed and remembered all the times I had been coming to Sonya’s. Each time, it was a celebration of life, of love, of friends, of joys and tears. This is a place that assuages all fears.

Through the seasons of life — winter, spring, summer or fall — Sonya’s is an encouraging witness for us to come to terms, heal, dream more dreams and turn them into reality. In this exquisite paradise, love lost is found.

Leaping through the pages of Sonya’s recently launched book, before falling into a restful slumber, I read an aphorism by Henry David Thoreau that summed up my heart’s yearning and the lifestyle of Sonya: “If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet scented herbs—that is your success. All nature is congratulations.”

Indeed, no matter how we feel, nature does heal.

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For more information about Sonya’s Garden and Bed & Breakfast, please call 0917-5329097 and 0917-5335140. The book Sonya’s Secret Garden is available at Sonya’s Garden in Alfonso Cavite, Travel Café located at 2nd floor Greenbelt 5 and Bencab’s Museum in Baguio .)

E-mail the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.