Showing 1 - 7 of 7
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.
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.
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.
Fruitful search for elusive trees
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 30/03/2014
» I had two people in mind when I went to Kasetsart University at the start of the annual agricultural fair, better known as Kaset Fair, last Saturday. Ken Banks had written to say that in his 11 years of visiting Thailand and finally living in Khon Kaen, where he moved from beautiful Hawaii, he had never seen a breadfruit tree until recently, when he spotted two trees on a street across from the Khon Kaen train station. “They look a lot like the Hawaiian variety, based on the leaf color, shape and luster,” he wrote. “This is a delicious, unseeded cultivar that I would dearly love to have.”
Have no fear when pruning poison plants
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 15/09/2013
» Two or three years ago I received an email telling people to get rid of a certain plant, as it was so poisonous it could kill a child "in less than a minute and an adult in 15 minutes". It added that if the plant is touched, "One should never touch one's eyes; it can cause partial or permanent blindness." The plant was not named, but the message showed a picture of a dieffenbachia.
Casting a dry spell: Moist not a must for plants
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/03/2013
» Call me ignorant, but I was already an adult when I realised the value of dried flowers for interior decorating. Until then, the only flowers I had seen, in my native Philippines as well as in my adoptive home of Thailand, were fresh, plastic or made of cloth or paper.
Plant and prosper _ right from the ground up
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 14/10/2012
» When is the best time to plant trees and shrubs in the ground? Anytime, even in the summer, if you can give them sufficient irrigation. If you want to save on water, plant now during the rainy season, but make sure the soil is not soggy at all times or your trees will suffocate and die. The rainy days are now almost at an end, so once the rain has stopped you may have to continue watering until they are fully established in their new location.