Ventura sits in her rooftop garden in the Philippines. Photo: Privat/Anna Ventura/dpa Delong De Leon used to have only three potted plants in his home in a suburb just south of Manila. Now, he has over 70 plants, including a 1.5m fire tree that he grew from a seed. The 44-year-old father of two teenagers says his collection multiplied since the coronavirus lockdown started in the middle of March, which left him with a lot of free time. “The plants helped me a lot during the lockdown, ” he says. “They helped me be calm and less anxious. I was busy, but good busy.”