Showing 1 - 10 of 35
If you can stand the heat
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 01/05/2016
» It's especially hot, of course, in Thailand during the summer months. But judging from the way Cassia fistula is blooming heavily this year, this summer has been even hotter than previous years.
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.
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.
Passing the smell test
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 17/04/2016
» Ten years ago, Kriepob Limkangwalmongkol wrote to say that Phuket, where he lived, had many Chinese Taoist temples and they burned quite a lot of mai juang, or theptaro wood, to cleanse the atmosphere during their numerous ceremonies, especially during the annual vegetarian festival.
No slacking off in hunt for salak
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 14/08/2016
» Roy Cruise sent me an email asking where to find chempedak (Artocarpus integer), salak (Salacca zalacca) and gandaria (Bouea macrophylla) in Thailand. A friend of his in Cavite, Philippines, had asked him to look for the said fruit trees but he has not been able to find them in Mae Hong Son, where he lives. "I was wondering if you had any idea where I may find them?" he asked.
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.
Changing the landscape
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 26/06/2016
» Thomas Loke wrote to say that he does landscaping and hopes to use bromeliads in his future designs. He wants to know whether there is going to be a bromeliad fair this year.
Time for cutbacks
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 29/05/2016
» We have had thunderstorms and rain this month. Hopefully the summer heat will soon be a thing of the past as the rainy season starts.
The plants are bugged
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/04/2016
» There’s a sad footnote to the story about Petchsuporn Rapley’s date palms in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai (Green Fingers, March 6). For those who did not read the article, Ms Petchsuporn planted some 100 date palms as an experiment a little over three years ago. A year later two trees started to flower, followed by a few more last year. Braving sharp-as-nails giant thorns, she and her workers cross-pollinated the trees manually and these successfully bore fruit for the first time last year.
The best way to turn over that new leaf
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/01/2016
» I have a young friend who lives in Fresno, California. She teaches science in high school but does volunteer work in her spare time, taking a group of elderly people to a public park to do gardening. “There are plots in the park where the elderly can plant flowers or vegetables,” she said when we talked on the phone recently. “They love it. They find it invigorating. Growing plants has given them a new purpose in life.”