Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Let the sunshine in
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 02/10/2016
» A Filipino friend of mine who lives in the US was enamoured with a plant he saw on Facebook. It was rather expensive but he bought it anyway. The seller was in the Philippines so he had it delivered to his sister, with whom he stays during his visits home.
Desert bloom
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 04/09/2016
» Arun Kumar Paul sent me an email from Kolkata, India, to say that he loved plants like his own life. "I have a few adenium plants," he added, "but I have little knowledge of their culture. Could you give me some ideas?"
No slacking off in hunt for salak
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 14/08/2016
» Roy Cruise sent me an email asking where to find chempedak (Artocarpus integer), salak (Salacca zalacca) and gandaria (Bouea macrophylla) in Thailand. A friend of his in Cavite, Philippines, had asked him to look for the said fruit trees but he has not been able to find them in Mae Hong Son, where he lives. "I was wondering if you had any idea where I may find them?" he asked.
The agony andthe ecstasy
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 15/05/2016
» I was ecstatic when I saw fruits hanging for the first time from the branches of my Pouteria campechiana tree, otherwise known as canistel or eggfruit. It is called lamut khamen in Thai but actually few Thais know it, and even fewer have tasted it. I suspect that the first tree grown in Thailand came from the seed of a fruit taken from across the border in Cambodia, and the grower named it "lamut khamen" after the country or its people (khamen is the Thai word for Cambodian), as he did not know its proper name.
Hedge your bets
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 27/03/2016
» Brian Corrigan wants to get away from concrete walls around his Bangkok property and have a more environmentally friendly screen from his neighbours. “I need the plant to grow to around 1.5 metres tall. Can you recommend something, please?” he wrote.
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.
Master of a growing art
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 21/06/2015
» If Caladium bicolour, or fancy-leaved caladium, can be compared to works of art, then the plants you see on this page are masterpieces. They are the works of a master breeder who creates hundreds of cultivars with just one stroke of his brush. No two plants are exactly the same, so if you want to be the proud owner of a masterpiece or two, or even more, head for the plant market being held along Phadung Krung Kasem canal behind Government House before next Sunday. It is open from 10am to 7pm daily.
Try hedging your bets
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 05/04/2015
» Reader Poonsri Pupipat wrote to say that she lives in a very busy lane used as a shortcut by all types of vehicles from early morning to late at night. She planted rows of Polyathia longifolia var pandurata trees, known in Thai as asoke India, along both sides of her fence to alleviate noise and air pollution, but two died recently.
Awesome orchids
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 01/03/2015
» As the orchid market behind Government House draws to a close today, let us take another look at some of the flowers whose beauty melted even a military strongman’s heart.