Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Prickly customers
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 28/08/2016
» If the number of stalls selling a plant can be an indication of its popularity, then cacti and succulents are clearly back in favour. At Chatuchak midweek plant market there are certainly more vendors selling these miniature beauties than ever before. Many are species and hybrids newly introduced from other countries.
Changing the landscape
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 26/06/2016
» Thomas Loke wrote to say that he does landscaping and hopes to use bromeliads in his future designs. He wants to know whether there is going to be a bromeliad fair this year.
Flowers of flame
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/04/2016
» The Tabebuia rosea, or chompoo panthip, on Kasetsart University's Kamphaeng Saen campus in Nakhon Pathom province caused a traffic jam as it attracted people from far and near last February. The trees were planted on both sides of the road and when they dropped all their leaves, only to be blanketed by flowers all at the same time, they were a sight to behold.
A date with destiny
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 06/03/2016
» If I remember it right, Thais started to plant Phoenix dactylifera, or date palm, in the 1980s. I have never heard of the trees successfully bearing fruit, so I put it down to the climate.
Sweet wave
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 14/02/2016
» As a regular visitor, I already knew what to expect at this year’s annual agricultural fair at Kasetsart University. There would be fruit tree saplings, ornamental plants and agricultural machinery for sale. There would be seasonal fruit and agricultural crops. Nearly half of the produce on sale, however, would be fried food, and things only remotely related to agriculture, such as furniture, footwear, accessories, clothing and cosmetics.
The best way to turn over that new leaf
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/01/2016
» I have a young friend who lives in Fresno, California. She teaches science in high school but does volunteer work in her spare time, taking a group of elderly people to a public park to do gardening. “There are plots in the park where the elderly can plant flowers or vegetables,” she said when we talked on the phone recently. “They love it. They find it invigorating. Growing plants has given them a new purpose in life.”
Many of a kind
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 01/11/2015
» Bromeliads had their day during the Thailand Bromeliad Fair held at the Southerners Association’s clubhouse on Kanchanaphisek Road recently. The event was organised by the East Coast Flowers and Ornamental Plants Association, which usually holds its annual plant fair on its own turf in Chon Buri. This time around, the fair featured only bromeliads, and it was held in Bangkok to make it more accessible to plant enthusiasts.
Space invaders
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 02/08/2015
» What’s in a name? It may not sound funny to you, but I find it amusing how American lawmakers could waste so much time and energy, not to mention taxpayers’ money, deliberating over what to call a fish. Last year, Senator Bill Hoffman of Minnesota was concerned that the name “Asian carp” was “hurtful” and “offensive” to some people so he sought to change the name to “invasive carp”. And guess what, the Minnesota Senate approved the bill.
A place in the shade
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 14/06/2015
» I was enjoying my favourite phad thai at the Sampran Riverside’s Inn Chan restaurant when I overheard someone telling resort owner Suchada Yuvaboon that her family have been regular guests of the resort for decades. She said they would either spend their weekends there, staying overnight at the hotel, or drive from Bangkok on Saturday or Sunday just to have lunch at the Inn Chan. Not just every now and then, but nearly every week.
All the fruits of the fair
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 24/05/2015
» Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to have the lot of agriculturists at heart. Once again he turned the road behind Government House into a marketplace, this time for Thai fruit and vegetables, and presided over the opening ceremony himself on May 6. Dubbed the Thai Fruit and Vegetable Festival, the market opens at 10am every day. It closes at 7pm from Monday to Thursday and at 8pm from Friday to Sunday until the end of this month.