Showing 31 - 40 of 236
Xerophytes win water fights
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 22/05/2016
» May is almost at an end. Usually around this time, our friends Bantherng and his wife Phen are busy harvesting lychee in their orchard in Phetchabun. This year, however, not one of their more than 100 trees bore fruit. In fact, not one lychee tree in their district of Nam Nao, some 40km from Nam Nao National Park, had fruit 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.
Exploring the world garden
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 05/06/2016
» During my visit to the Philippines two months ago, a good friend of mine gave me a bag of pistachio nuts which her sister, Pin, had sent her from the US. Pin and her family live in Delano, California, and she regularly sends food packages that includes pistachio nuts, almonds, dates and raisins to her sister in the Philippines.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Flowers of flame
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/04/2016
» The Tabebuia rosea, or chompoo panthip, on Kasetsart University's Kamphaeng Saen campus in Nakhon Pathom province caused a traffic jam as it attracted people from far and near last February. The trees were planted on both sides of the road and when they dropped all their leaves, only to be blanketed by flowers all at the same time, they were a sight to behold.
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.
What we do in the shadows
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 24/04/2016
» Violeta Anselmi likes plants, but the only place she can grow them is her balcony. The problem is that it does not get direct sunlight, for it is shaded most of the time. "Up to now, we have been unsuccessful in keeping our potted plants alive," she wrote.