Showing 81 - 90 of 236
Poison in the petals
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 31/05/2015
» Alicia Harrison of Royersford, Pennsylvania wrote on her Facebook wall that a biopsy report showed her beloved dog, Goldie, died from the toxin in a plant that she had on her deck. “It is called heliotrope and is highly toxic, causes total liver destruction,” she wrote. “The pathologist said our angel had the worst liver damage he’s ever seen. Goldie would nibble at the leaves of this plant every so often and we had no clue it was toxic. Please share with any dog owners you know to hopefully prevent their dog from becoming a statistic like Goldie.
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.
Have plants will travel
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 17/05/2015
» Mayeeda Choudhury said she first saw Millingtonia hortensis, commonly known as Indian cork tree, while visiting Bangkok two years ago. “I tried to look for it in Chatuchak plant market but as I did not know the Thai name, I could not communicate to the shopkeepers what I was looking for,” she wrote. “I travel to Bangkok quite often, so I will be very obliged if you can inform me where I can find saplings.”
The magic mountains of the Philippines
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/05/2015
» From primary school, Filipino children are taught how rich the Philippines is in natural resources. But as a child I saw how the Caraballo mountain range straddling our province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon was being denuded of its forest cover, either by illegal loggers or settlers clearing the land for cultivation.
Growing farm fresh kids
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/05/2015
» Not many teachers would use a farm as an educational tool for grade school children, but Preciosa Soliven, PhD, is no ordinary teacher. As the founding president of OB (Operation Brotherhood) Montessori Centre, which operates five schools in and around Manila in the Philippines, she motivates children to develop into self-dependent adults from the age of three.
Parsing the sage advice on rosemary takes time
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 26/04/2015
» Bangkok resident Brian Corrigan wrote to say that he has repeatedly tried to grow the herb rosemary without success. “Thriving plants, in pots, bought in supermarkets and left indoors with good light and little watering seem to last only a matter of a few days before they start to wilt.
Hot in the city
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 19/04/2015
» From his home in Soi On Nut, David Swartzentruber wrote to say that he had been trying to grow Spartan junipers in a planting box outside his building. “I must have gone through 15 now deceased junipers. Spartan, they were not,” he wrote.
Don’t waste a drop
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 12/04/2015
» It is a Thai custom to make merit on religious and other important holidays. This Songkran, three days of celebration which starts tomorrow, you can be sure that large crowds will be converging on Sanam Luang and major temples in Bangkok and the provinces to make merit by giving alms to monks.
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.
Not by any other name
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 29/03/2015
» What's in a name? Following the column about Quisqualis indica two weeks ago, Alain Missorten asked: “Any idea why it is called the Rangoon creeper?”