The Flower Farmer

Gilda de los Reyes started growing flowers as a hobby in her Tagaytay farm in the mid-1980s out of frustration over the lack of choices in the local cutflower industry at the time. Eventually, she set up The Flower Farm, but the decision to go into business was a long and hard one for De los Reyes. She was practically forced into it because her flowers and plants had become too much for her to handle.

The Flower Farm’s Gilda de los Reyes

“Every time my sons suggested that I sell, I cried because I did not want to sell my flowers. But then, later on, I saw the need to sell because I was already spending a lot of money and I had to hire more hands as the farm was getting bigger,” she relates.

De los Reyes’s flowers sold very well. Encouraged by the positive response, she and her sons opened a small shop in Makati City in 1987, where they introduced new floral varieties and different types of arrangements. Her 4 greenhouses soon grew to 8. Today, the farm spans 7.2 hectares and an 18th greenhouse is on the way.

The Flower Farm grows gerberas, chrysanthemums, roses, carnations, lilies, lisianthus, trachelium, callisthepuis, anthuriums, orchids, and celosias, all in a multitude of hues. It has green bells, Queen Anne’s lace, tropical blooms, and unique foliage to suit arrangements for any occasion. Through trial and error, De los Reyes has already identified which varieties grow well during the wet season and which ones during the dry.

In the past, De los Reyes would occasionally import flowers, but she eventually stopped and has not imported flowers since then. She was convinced that if any flowers needed to be grown, it could be grown locally.