MANILA, Philippines ? Imagine your backyard as wide open. It could even be an orchidarium, or a lush herbal garden.

The Ponderosa Villas have Santa Fe-style postcard-perfect homes with a backyard that is the dream of every nature lover. The Ponderosa Leisure Farms in Silang, Cavite, is spread across 80 hectares of rolling terrain and is described as the country?s first flower garden community.

There are three kinds of villas?Villa Amarantha, Villa Althea and Villa Jasmine. Seventy-five percent of the lot areas are allotted to garden space. Enjoying the outdoors is most definitely the best setting for entertaining or simply enjoying time with the family.

What is even better than having a great garden is not worrying about maintaining it. Ponderosa has made available a maintenance and care service for its residents. And the best part of it is that there is a meditation garden called El Refugio (the refuge).

Only two villas remain, Villa Amarantha, which stands out with its heavy, carved wooden door and wrought iron grill work, and Villa Althea, the only home with a trellised courtyard. The villas are drenched in rich colors of Mexican design and each home is unique. The villas were created by Landco in partnership with the Perez-Rubio family.