Showing 1 - 10 of 10
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.
All the small things
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 20/03/2016
» Records show that the Japanese have practised the art of bonsai, or cultivating miniature trees in pots and trays, since the 9th century. However, for hundreds of years it remained the preserve of monks and the nobility. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century that it gained popularity at every level of the Japanese society.
Plant the seeds of peace
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 04/01/2015
» A friend commented that time goes by very fast when one is having fun. Despite months of political turbulence and street demonstrations, which are hardly anyone’s definition of fun, 2014 has gone very fast and we have now embarked on another year. We can only hope that this year will bring peace throughout the world and less suffering caused by natural disasters.
On the hunt for the plant thieves
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 07/12/2014
» Why would someone steal the world's rarest water lily? That was the question asked by Sam Knight in an article published in the British newspaper The Guardian recently. He wrote the lengthy article after the smallest water lily in the world, the Nymphaea thermarum, whose white flowers measure less than 1cm across, was stolen from — of all places — the Princess of Wales Conservatory in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London.
Living art in miniature
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 01/06/2014
» During a trip to Japan years ago, I visited a village in Omiya, in Saitama prefecture outside Tokyo, where more than a dozen families grew and sold bonsai. “We get visitors from all over the world all the time,” Saburo Katoh, owner of Mansei-en nursery and founder of the Omiya bonsai village, told me at the time. “But the bonsai season is in October and November, when seasoned bonsai enthusiasts come to buy plants.
Bad news lavender lovers _ These sweet smellers can't take the heat
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 24/03/2013
» Pavan Khimesra has been unsuccessfully trying to grow lavender in his Bangkok home. ''The seeds just do not seem to germinate,'' he wrote. ''I understand that the plant grows in the Mediterranean climate so it might be possible to grow it in Bangkok. I am trying to grow the munstead dwarf, hidcote dwarf and true lavender varieties, which I think are all types of Lavandula angustifolia. Lavender grows in hardiness zones 4-10 as classified by the US Department of Agriculture [Bangkok is 10], and in the American Horticultural Society's plant heat zones 2-11 [Bangkok is 12].
Once again, Kaset fair blossomed brightly
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/02/2013
» The national agricultural fair annually held at Kasetsart University, commonly known as the Kaset Fair, has become synonymous with sweet tamarind. Every year, tonnes of Phetchabun's most famous product occupy a whole block and this year's fair, held from Jan 31 and wrapping up yesterday, was no exception.
Possibilities bloom for gardeners at annual flora fair
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/02/2013
» Since I really have no more space for them, buying plants was the farthest thing from my mind when I attended the opening of the eight-day Eastern Flora Exhibition and Contest in Chon Buri, which ended last Sunday. But my resolve vanished when I saw adenium, or chuan chom in Thai, hybrids I had never seen before. Many had double petals and looked like roses, and came in different colour combinations, like dark red bordered by black, or light green splashed with pink. In my mind, I suddenly found space for them on the small balcony in my bedroom, and my husband, ML Charuphant, and I went home loaded with plants.
It's not too late for sanam luang fair
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 09/12/2012
» Plant lovers still have today and tomorrow to check out the annual plant fair being held at Suan Luang Rama IX Park. The much awaited event draws not just Thais but also plant enthusiasts from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Last year, a friend who lives in Cagayan de Oro, in the southern Philippines, bought a plane ticket three months in advance in anticipation of the event, which is held every year from Dec 1 to 10. Imagine his disappointment when the fair was cancelled due to the floods that put much of Bangkok under one metre of water for several weeks.
Get your fair share
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/06/2012
» Better late than never. This seems to be the slogan of the Kaset Fair, which used to be held for nine days every year from the last Friday of January to the first Saturday of February. Delayed by last year's floods, which put Kasetsart University under one metre of water for nearly a month, the annual agricultural fair is now being held in the university grounds and you have until Wednesday to check out what it has to offer.