Showing 1 - 10 of 25
Turns for the better
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 11/12/2016
» Unlike the Philippines, which is battered by no less than 24 typhoons a year, Thailand is hardly hit by typhoons. Thais, therefore, did not know what to expect when Typhoon Gay hit the Gulf of Thailand on Nov 3, 1989. With gale-force winds of 120kph, it killed 529 people, including fishermen and offshore oil rig workers, and rendered 160,000 homeless in the southern provinces of Chumphon, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Worthy of a name
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 04/12/2016
» Piya Chalermglin, PhD, intrepid plant explorer and extraordinary researcher at the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, recently retired. He spent 20 years of his career surveying the country's plant genetic resources, particularly Magnoliales, which includes the custard apple family Annonaceae and the magnolia family Magnoliaceae. In the process, he earned the distinction of having discovered 17 species new to science, joining the likes of famous botanist Carl Linnaeus and other plant explorers who immortalised their names by inspiring the names of some plants.
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.
Nurturing fruits of your labour
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 11/09/2016
» Many gardeners could not get their plants to bloom, much less bear fruit. Reader Murray Thomas' problem is just the opposite. His potted lime tree is exploding with fruit and more flowers are on the way. "As many as 15 small fruit on a single small branch," he wrote. "The tree is about 1.5 metres tall.
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.
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.
Branch out and keep your cool
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 17/01/2016
» We were in the grounds of the seaside Marriott hotel in Rayong during a family holiday recently. I was walking towards the beach, with my husband, ML Charuphant, following several steps behind, when he called out.
Nature’s air conditioners
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/01/2016
» While I was writing this, extreme weather was wreaking havoc in many parts of the world. In South America, vast areas in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay were hit in what was said to be the “worst flooding in 50 years”. Deadly tornadoes, snowstorms and floods brought winter woes to Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas and several other states in the US Midwest and South, and record-breaking rains brought floods that devastated parts of northern England and Scotland.
I heard it through the grapevine
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 13/12/2015
» When I was in grade school, my father tried to germinate seeds of grapes imported from California at our home in the rice growing region of Central Luzon in the Philippines. He did not expect the seeds to germinate, as he knew the fruit was grown in a climate so different from ours.
Standing in the shadows of giants
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 30/08/2015
» Small is beautiful, but giants are far more awe-inspiring. That I found out during a trip to northern Thailand recently.