Showing 71 - 80 of 236
The mother of all blooms
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 09/08/2015
» I used to give my mum a white rose on Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of May in the Philippines, where I grew up. Now that I am a mother and grandmother, I get jasmine instead.
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.
High and dry
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 26/07/2015
» Where have all the flowers gone? Last time I was on our farm six months ago, the flowering plants and shrubs were blooming in all their glory. But during a visit two weeks ago, there were very few flowers, and even the bougainvilleas, which bloom nearly all year round, were missing.
Toxic plants and rumours taking root
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 19/07/2015
» When will people ever learn? The warning on dieffenbachia, known in Thai as sao noi pra paeng, being a dangerous plant is going viral again. Apparently someone in India just read it and shared it with her friends, then people in the Philippines and Japan picked it up and now it is making the rounds on Facebook all over again.
Leave those trees alone
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 12/07/2015
» I was on my way to fetch my grandson from school last week when I passed by workmen busy trimming tamarind trees along Si Ayutthaya Road outside the Chitralada Palace compound. As branches cut from the trees fell to the ground, other workers picked them up and loaded them onto a lorry. They were still busy working on that particular stretch of road when I passed them on the way back.
How to play it cool
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 05/07/2015
» The severe heatwaves that gripped India and Pakistan in May and June, killing more than 4,000 people, must be a matter of grave concern for us in Thailand. With the Earth’s changing climate patterns, there might come a time when temperatures of up to 40-45C could sweep this country, too.
Flower power
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 28/06/2015
» I have eaten several kinds of flowers in my lifetime. You probably did not know that the blossoms of bitter melon (Momordica charantia), also known as bitter gourd and balsam pear, or mara in Thai, and ridged luffa (Luffa acutangula), which Thais call buap, are edible.
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.
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.
La vie en rose
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 07/06/2015
» ‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness…” English poet John Keats was not thinking about roses in particular when he wrote that poem in 1818; he only mentioned “musk-rose blooms” in passing. Yet, there is probably no other flower which has given so much joy since ancient times than the rose.