Showing 1 - 10 of 26
From the ground up
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 13/11/2016
» Last week's column about a sick bodhi tree in the yard of a temple in Tucson, Arizona, reminded me of a letter from Murray Thomas last April seeking advice on the cultural requirements of the edible creeper Piper sarmentosum, known in Thai as cha plu.
Jack of all fruits
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 09/10/2016
» The world population was listed at one billion in 1804. Statistics show that 123 years passed before it reached two billion in 1927, but it took only 33 years to hit the three billion mark in 1960. From then on it rose by leaps and bounds, taking only 14 years to reach four billion in 1974 and 13 years to rise to five billion in 1987. I still remember reading about the world population reaching six billion in 1999. It now stands at 7.5 billion, and it took only 17 years to reach that number.
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.
Why tamarind seems to keep a peeling
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 21/02/2016
» Regular reader Paul Schiller and his wife Beatrix are long-time residents of Khao Lak in Phangnga, where they seek warmth during the cold winter months in their home country, Austria. They were on holiday in Hua Hin recently when they saw an unfamiliar fruit. “Today in Hua Hin, nobody knows this, I got not even a Thai name,” Mr Schiller wrote in his email asking for help in identifying the said fruit.
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.
Raising a peep
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 29/11/2015
» Grant Howlett is an Australian expatriate with a reasonable knowledge of things botanical in his home country. But when it comes to Asian plant life, “alas, I have lots to learn”, he wrote. “I did reside for many years in the tropics of northern Australia, and many plants there are also here, like the foxtail palm which is originally from Australia but now prolific here in Thailand, but when it comes to trees I am lost.”
A landscape on the rocks
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 15/11/2015
» Frederik Majoor and his wife, Patraporn, live in a tropical paradise just a seven-minute walk from Surin beach in Phuket. They own three villas that boast a lush, beautifully landscaped garden, complete with a waterfall and a large pond designed like a stream and populated by 99 colourful Japanese carp, or koi.
An offer I couldn't refuse
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 20/09/2015
» Out of the blue, I heard from an old friend I have not seen for decades. “Would you have time to come and see my villa in Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani?” she asked. “It’s very close to Bangkok and I would like to have your opinion. I’ve owned it for over 30 years, starting from scratch by digging up ponds. It is not for anything but pleasure and respite from Bangkok.”
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.
The awesome avocado
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 23/11/2014
» Last Sunday's Green Fingers was about the leaves that my friend Julia gathers from her backyard and brews for tea. Soursop leaves, pandan and lemongrass all have medicinal properties, and as long as they get full sun all can be grown, even in a small space.