Thread: What's in your garden?

I'll stand up for them as well mate!

Originally Posted by PAG

M'Sahib spotted a couple of new residents this morning whilst watering the front garden.

Not much to base an identification on, I'd take a wild guess at at a Yellow-vented bulbul.

Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Originally Posted by Shutree

Not much to base an identification on, I'd take a wild guess at at a Yellow-vented bulbul.

Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Think you're correct, definitely the head markings are the same.

In my early years at Korat I spent a lot of time and effort trying to get Rosemary to grow. I gave up looking for it in Thailand so brought in seeds from the UK, all of which germinated but soon died. I smuggled in countless young plants in cardboard tubes from nurseries supermarkets across Norway and the UK and even from Perth, WA. The plants all lasted a few weeks before turning black and dying.

I've always put it down to the humidity in Isaan. It can't be the heat as Rosemary grows like a weed in WA where it gets a lot hotter than here. But not so humid. I gave up on Rosemary and forgot about growing it many years ago and now keep a jar of dried Rosemary for roast lamb and the likes.

Today I popped down to a nursery a few km out of Korat to pick up a couple of coconut plants to replace the diseased ones I've been chopping down, and imagine my surprise when I spotted this...



I thought, 'fuk me, that looks like Rosemary', and a quick sniff confirmed it. I looked around and several stall were selling it... and I've never before seen it here. Very strange indeed. Healthy looking plants as well.

So I picked up a couple of plants at 150 Baht each and will re-pot them tomorrow in sandy soil and instruct the gardener not to over-water them. No, I'll ban him from watering them altogether.

Max certainly appreciated the fragrance of fresh Rosemary.



We still have a shoulder of local lamb in the freezer. I may just get it out, this weekend!

Originally Posted by Mendip

So I picked up a couple of plants at 150 Baht each and will re-pot them tomorrow in sandy soil and instruct the gardener not to over-water them.

150! Crikey, I just bought four of those magnolia champaca trees that Stumpy suggested as shade trees, B150 the lot. They are babies, I cannot find mature trees in this province, the dealers all tell me to go to Udon Thani, so I bought local and in ten years or so I should have some shade. Anyway, 150 for four flowering shade trees that will outlive me seems a better deal than a pot of rosemary that has a life expectancy measured in days.

Joking aside, I'd look at that as fresh rosemary for the kitchen, like those pots of live herbs they sell in UK supermarkets. I saw a packet of cut rosemary in Makro the other day at a similar price, given a choice I'd rather buy it in a pot. If you can plant it and get it to survive that will be a bonus. Meanwhile I'd be getting that lamb out of the freezer.

Madame's Chihuahua found a dead cat in the "garden" this morning.

About 6pm yesterday I was in the garden with the dogs and didn't believe my eyes when I saw a monkey climbing out over the fence. It legged it across the lane and away through a neighbour's garden.
It was an adult Rhesus macaque.

This was a big surprise for several reasons. Whilst they are common in some forest and urban areas, here is pretty much rice fields for ever, not at all their usual habitat. The gf says that there used to be a couple of captive monkeys in the village when she was a child, they worked picking coconuts. She hasn't seen one in the last 20 years, apart from a temple about 10km away but all their animals were removed by the authorities a couple of years back. There is no obvious food source here, no banana trees are fruiting. Macaques usually form groups, this was a lone animal, I think we'd hear something if there was a troop around.

The Thailand National Parks website doesn't mark Nongbualamphu as a known location for macaques. Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Probably this was an escaped pet. I'll wait to hear if anyone in the village reports a missing monkey.

Originally Posted by Shutree

Joking aside, I'd look at that as fresh rosemary for the kitchen, like those pots of live herbs they sell in UK supermarkets. I saw a packet of cut rosemary in Makro the other day at a similar price, given a choice I'd rather buy it in a pot. If you can plant it and get it to survive that will be a bonus. Meanwhile I'd be getting that lamb out of the freezer.

We've grown various of the herbs that we use from seed, with varying degrees of success. Ultimately though, we don't have much of a problem getting fresh herbs here, and even from Villa Market, the prices are quite reasonable. Obviously in the absence of western shops then growing your own is the way to go. These are our usual ones, photos from Villa's on-line shop website:

^^ We've tried to grow Rosemary several times here but failed miserably each time. I don't know why, tried in pots but died during the humid monsoon season each time. Failed with parsley as well, just too hot.

Originally Posted by Troy

^^ We've tried to grow Rosemary several times here but failed miserably each time. I don't know why, tried in pots but died during the humid monsoon season each time. Failed with parsley as well, just too hot.

Same problem here.
I think it likes dry weather.
Wife planted some more , and it's doing well so far. But it has been very dry. I think it will bite the dust in the rainy season.
Perhaps if it was planted in a pot and during the rainy season it was moved to a dry location.

Originally Posted by PAG

we don't have much of a problem getting fresh herbs here, and even from Villa Market, the prices are quite reasonable.

Those prices seem reasonable. We only have Makro and their boxes of 50gms rosemary, sage and maybe one or two others are all priced over B100.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Wind blew it a few hundred meters

Impressive. A bit further and they'd be scrambling fighter jets to shoot it down.
Can you salvage it? Is the roof still around?

Originally Posted by Shutree

Impressive. A bit further and they'd be scrambling fighter jets to shoot it down.
Can you salvage it? Is the roof still around?

I Think I found most of the parts , and wife wants me to try and fix it , but I am not very optimistic.
AsI said in my other thread . They all look the same . So perhaps I will buy another one and tell her its the one I fixed.
I just have to find a way to get rid of this one.
A few months ago my wife's uncle gave me to repair one of these metal thing Thais use to dig holes
The handle had broken off and he asked if I could weld it.
So I threw it in the garbage and bought another one exactly the same from DoHome.
They still talk about the quality of my weld! Too bad my welding machine is broken and can't do any more welding

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

I Think I found most of the parts , and wife wants me to try and fix it , but I am not very optimistic.

When you fix it, sit the roof on top without nailing it down. That way, the next storm you have will whip the roof off and leave your sala undamaged. Or, buy a new one.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

I just have to find a way to get rid of this one.

Get them to take away the old one when they deliver the new one. Let them fix it!