Filipino Plant Collection

Eliza’s mother emigrated from the Philippines, and plants and gardening were a major part of her life. “I think part of my mom’s coping mechanism for living in western Massachusetts instead of somewhere warm and tropical was that she always had tons of houseplants,” Eliza says. October is Filipino American History Month, chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Filipinos to land in the United States in what is now Morro Bay, California, on October 18, 1587. Here at The Sill, we’re honoring the Filipino experience with a selection of plants native to the country.