18/06/2026
Horti Filipina
International Plant Show CLARK
June 26 - 28, 2026
SMEX Convention Center
BAGIW SA BANGA
Demonstration & Hands-on Introduction
By Nanay Tetchie
June 28, 2pm to 4pm
From kokedama to living pots, how Nanay Tetchie is taking Baguio’s moss art to the national stage
By Mia Magdalena Fokno
June 18, 2026
In Baguio, moss is everywhere.
It clings to stone walls after the rain, carpets tree trunks in quiet corners, and spreads across gardens in shades of green that most people barely notice.
Nanay Tetchie Palaganas looked at that moss and saw possibility.
For years, she has been a familiar figure in Baguio’s gardening community, inspiring hobbyists and plant lovers through her intricate kokedama creations, terrariums, and workshops. While many gardeners focused on growing plants in pots, she was experimenting with new ways of presenting nature itself as art.
Now, her latest creation is taking her beyond the Cordillera.
On June 28, Nanay Tetchie will be a guest speaker at the Horti Filipina International Plant Show in Clark, Pampanga, where she will formally introduce BAGIW SA BANGA, a concept that transforms ordinary clay pots into living gardens.
The idea grew from years of gardening in both Bulacan and Baguio and from a fascination with moss, or bagiw in the Ibaloi language.
Unlike traditional potted plants that grow inside a container, BAGIW SA BANGA allows moss and plants to thrive on the outside of a clay pot. The pot itself becomes part of the garden.
The process relies on the natural properties of clay. Water stored inside the pot slowly evaporates through its porous surface, creating moisture around the exterior. That natural humidity helps sustain mosses and carefully selected plants attached to the outside, allowing them to grow into miniature landscapes that change and evolve over time.
The result is part garden, part sculpture, and part ecosystem.
What might otherwise be an ordinary clay pot becomes a living artwork.
For Nanay Tetchie, however, the concept is about more than creativity. It is also about place.
The mosses and plants used in her creations are sourced from growers in Baguio City, Benguet, and other parts of the Cordillera. By using species that naturally thrive in mountain environments, she is able to showcase the beauty of local plants while helping support local growers.
That connection to the Cordillera is reflected throughout her work.
Long before BAGIW SA BANGA, Nanay Tetchie had already introduced many local plant enthusiasts to the art of kokedama, the Japanese practice of growing plants in balls of soil wrapped in moss. Her creations helped popularize a style of gardening that encourages people to slow down, observe nature more closely, and appreciate plants as living art rather than mere decoration.
BAGIW SA BANGA takes that philosophy one step further.
Instead of placing nature inside a vessel, it turns the vessel itself into part of nature.
It is a simple idea, but one that invites people to see familiar things differently—a patch of moss as inspiration, a clay pot as a canvas, and a garden as a work of art.
At the Horti Filipina International Plant Show, Nanay Tetchie will not only share the story behind BAGIW SA BANGA but also exhibit her creations, along with her kokedama and terrariums. Visitors will have an opportunity to see and purchase pieces that reflect years of experimentation, craftsmanship, and love for plants.
For many attendees, it will be their first encounter with a gardening concept inspired by the moss-covered landscapes of the Cordillera.
For those curious to see how a simple clay pot can become a living garden, Nanay Tetchie will present “BAGIW SA BANGA (Moss on Jars)” on June 28 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Horti Filipina International Plant Show at the SMX Convention Center Clark in Pampanga. She will also exhibit her BAGIW SA BANGA creations, kokedama, and terrariums during the three-day event, which runs from June 26 to 28 and gathers plant enthusiasts, growers, collectors, and horticulture advocates from the Philippines and other countries. It is a fitting stage for a gardener who found inspiration in Baguio’s moss-covered landscapes—and turned it into living art.
