Key Points
- Merlinda Casapao met her husband Albert online and they are now enjoying retirement in Junee, NSW.
- Casapao's first viral gardening video garnered 1.9 million views overnight.
- Although she now earns from her content, her main goal in creating videos is to preserve memories of her garden which she can watch with Albert when they get older.
* SBS Filipino's Buhay Influencer is a series focused on the nuances of undertaking an influencer path, as well as the challenges and rewards of having a public persona.
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Plantita goes digital
SBS Filipino
20/10/202311:29
“Even when I was younger, my mum and I loved gardening together. When I look at my garden here in Junee, I always remember her. I say to myself, ‘I wish mum was here, so she could see my garden and see how good my life is now.’”
Retired math teacher and childcare educator Merlinda Casapao sees her garden not just as her bond with her mother, but as a way of connecting with others who find joy and healing in flowers.
"I wish mum was here, so she could see my garden and see how good my life is now." Credit: Merlinda Casapao
Coming up roses
Casapao had built a family and a career in the Philippines, but admits that tragedy after tragedy changed her "smile".
"My father died, and then my husband and mother followed. It was one death after another in a very short span of time.
"People in school would comment that I no longer had the same joy I used to have, that I rarely smiled."
How could I smile with that much sadness in my life?
One of her children encouraged her to go online and start meeting new people and to practice her English.
It was then that she met her now-husband, Albert from Australia.
Merlinda Casapao and her husband, Albert Credit: Merlinda Casapao
"I was hesitant to move to Australia at first because I didn't really think that I would be living anywhere else but the Philippines."
The couple first started living in Sydney, but when Albert retired, the two decided to move to a property he owned in regional Junee.
When Albert retired, the two decided to move to a property he owned in regional Junee. Credit: Merlinda Casapao
Reap what you sow
One of the first things Casapao tended to to spruce up their regional home was to tend to the garden.
"The house was previously a rental, so the garden wasn't really taken cared of. Then I started adding flowering plants to it.
"There was one time that I was removing weeds and grass in my Gazania garden when my kids wanted to do a video call. I couldn't answer them because I was busy, so I asked my husband to take a video of me in the garden.
"My kids and I didn't have a group chat then, so I decided to just post the video on Facebook so that I didn't have to have so many chats going on.
That video was only 58 seconds. It gained 1.9 million views overnight.
Casapao now has more than 140,000 followers on Facebook and has a subscriber hub available for those who want to get access to exclusive videos and gardening tips.
"I was a math teacher, so I understand the numbers and the algorithms involved with content creation. I don't let the numbers affect me though.
"I stay cool. I don't get too stressed about my videos; plus the great thing is, the videos are simple to do. If I see a new bloom in my garden, or if I need to deadhead a plant, I can already make a video."
Putting down roots
Much like other older social media users, Casapao finds that uploading garden videos on Facebook helps her maintain ties with her family in the Philippines and widens her community, especially considering she now resides in a regional area.
"I don't really like doing Facebook Live, but sometimes I have to because my followers have a lot of questions and want to connect with me. It's also my way of showing them my garden in real time.
"I also get a lot of lovely messages from people saying how much they love my garden. It makes me happy. I'm happy doing my videos and I think they feel my happiness through the screen."
While Casapao has found success with her online content, the point of why she does them has never been lost on her.
"I do the videos for me and Albert...so that when we get older, sitting on our rocking chairs, we can look back and see how beautiful our garden was and our life was."
