Showing 101 - 110 of 236
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.
The bugs that make a meal of the garden
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 30/11/2014
» Reader Margaret McMillion sent me a picture of a pest which she said had been periodically attacking plants in her Bangkok garden. “It is most prevalent at the end of the rainy season, but it can appear at almost any time,” she wrote.
On the hunt for the plant thieves
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 07/12/2014
» Why would someone steal the world's rarest water lily? That was the question asked by Sam Knight in an article published in the British newspaper The Guardian recently. He wrote the lengthy article after the smallest water lily in the world, the Nymphaea thermarum, whose white flowers measure less than 1cm across, was stolen from — of all places — the Princess of Wales Conservatory in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London.
A soulfully festive affair
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 02/11/2014
» Today is All Souls' Day, which in the Philippines is the second day of an annual two-day holiday devoted to remembering and praying for the souls of departed family members and loved ones. In the preceding days, tombs are weeded, repainted and spruced up for the big event, when cemeteries come to life as the living visit their dead in droves and bring flowers, light candles and offer prayers on All Saints' Day, which fell yesterday.
Halting a bamboo invasion
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 31/08/2014
» Last week I wrote about a recent visit to our farm, a tedious nine-hour trip from Bangkok. When it was purchased 12 years ago, the farm was intended to be our retirement home as the climate is pleasant; located near Loei province, it is cool nearly all year round. However, the birth of a grandson caused this plan to be shelved indefinitely.
The problem with papaya
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 20/07/2014
» Papaya is one of the easiest plants to grow, but I don’t see it planted in many Bangkok backyards. This is probably because the fruit is available all year round and can be purchased at any time. This is OK if you are not particular about the variety, but those who prefer kaek-dahm complain that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find.
A dahlia by any other name
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 27/07/2014
» My childhood friend Leandro Nunez, who lives in San Francisco, and his wife Dana went strolling with their granddaughter Emilia at the Golden Gate Park near their home last week. Dahlias were in bloom, and the proud grandparents sent me a photo of beautiful Emilia posing among the gorgeous flowers. Dahlia is the official flower of San Francisco, and every year the bountiful flowers attract visitors from far and near during their peak blooming time from June to September.
Bringing a garden back from the dead
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/08/2014
» Out of the blue I received a message on Facebook from a former colleague whom I had not seen for more than 20 years. “I need some advice on rehabilitating my garden. I would be most obliged if you could take the time to come by and take a look,” he wrote.
Keeping our orchids in bloom
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/08/2014
» Recognised as Thailand's leading expert on orchids, professor Rapee Sagarik devoted most of his life to the study, culture and propagation of orchids. He shared his knowledge by introducing orchidology courses at Kasetsart University in 1952, writing books and countless magazine articles on orchid growing and hybridisation techniques, and founding the Orchid Society of Thailand in 1957 to promote not only the exchange of know-how but also orchid culture as a hobby as well as a source of income.
Raising dragons from the vine
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 24/08/2014
» Taking advantage of a four-day holiday recently, my family went upcountry to indulge in our favourite pastime: gardening. Leaving Bangkok at 1pm on Saturday, we arrived at our country home at 10pm and even before we reached the doorstep I had found the answer to a reader's question.