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!

Originally Posted by Shutree

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.




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

All good ideas. I especially like the loose roof part. That's a very good idea.
Even if I get another one, I will loosen the roof so that if it blows it will not take the whole thing with it. I will use a several meters long rope coiled up, one end tied to the Sala and the other to the roof, so that if it blows I will not have far to go.
I love the idea. Green owed.

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.

Exactly that Troy. I've failed with Parsley as well but I'm not too bothered as it always seems like a bit of a nothing herb to me.

With Rosemary I'm convinced it's the humidity, not the heat. As I mentioned, it grows like a weed in WA where temperatures regularly top 40 degrees. I think it's the same with sheep, they can take the heat but not the humidity which is why they aren't in the Thai diet. At least, that's my theory.

I've never seen Rosemary plants for sale around these parts before and I'm hoping that they may have been developed to survive the climate here. I re-potted my two in a potting compost/sand mix, put gravel in the bottom of the pots which I have stood on breeze blocks, all in the hopes of increasing drainage. And maybe as BB suggests, I can move them to a sheltered area during the wet season.

The next step will be to try and stop the gardener from watering them... he just can't help himself.

I have a very nice small rosemary shrub growing. I have found here Mendy they are like Mint bushes, you have to prune frequently whether you use it or not. So I snip off parts and store in fridge and use when I BBQ. I have had mine now for a bit of time and it's small as I keep snipping off tips. In the US these grow all over as well. So far what I have found is they like morning direct sun but not afternoon direct sun. Being you have them in pots just watch and move to different locations.

^ Will do, thanks Stumpy.

Originally Posted by Shutree

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

Shu,
Those will grow pretty fast. Maybe 5 years you can hide behind one. Give them a lot water to get them going early. I'd keep in pots until almost root bound then plant where you want.

I will post up a pic of one I started in a pot 2 .5 years ago. It took off around 1.5 year mark and grew like mad on my car park side. I had to top it to keep it full. It just flowered a few weeks ago. Sure a nice smell.

2.5 Years old. They seem to grow incredibly fast once set. It flowered and is now dropping its leaves as it is hot. Once rainy season returns it will take off again.

I think I mentioned, we have 3 more in pots now. I plan on one or 2 behind my pool bar area this coming rainy season.

Good Luck

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Good Luck

Thanks, we'll need some luck! In fact I walked around yesterday and counting these 4 additions I reckon I have planted 49 trees that are still alive, that includes lemons but not papayas or bananas. I water them every day, baby trees need a bit of help and we have lost a few, now I am waiting for the rainy season to see which ones look like they'll make it through to Christmas. I know I'll never have the time or energy to maintain a manicured garden so along with the fruit trees I have tried to plant mostly native trees. They should grow in amongst the 20 mature trees that I refused to cut when they cleared the land and about 20 more self-seeded native trees that managed to dodge the strimmer and I am letting grow, mainly 'Pra doo' and 'Sa dow' and some random scrubby natural trees that you'll not find in a shop. It's all a bit hit and miss. I won't be here in 50 years to see how my plans turn out, all being well there will be a mixture of flowering trees and shade trees that will be interesting to people and animals while requiring minimal maintenance.
My signal failure has been with dipterocarpus, the family of native trees that probably covered this area a couple of hundred years ago. I have only one old dipterocarpus tree standing and there is one in the neighbour's land behind. They are dropping seeds at the moment and I am collecting some, each year I plant some in pots and they never germinate. Maybe this year.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I know I'll never have the time or energy to maintain a manicured garden

Ya know Shu, I find as time goes on I really quite enjoy taking the time to work around the place. It's my sanctuary as I tell my wife. Sometimes I look back on pictures on when I started or planted trees and enjoy seeing how they have grown.

I have had a half dozen trees die after they were planted. Almost all were mature trees brought in and that was early on. Now I don't buy the BS here that these guys say to leave that black mesh around the root balls. It's just nonsense. Now if I have a mature tree brought in, I dig the hole myself and a proper size so the tree roots can take off and I will not let the tree be planted with that black mesh crap on them. Since that time all the trees planted grow well and do not need that brace stuff after 6 months or so.

Lessons learned.

This is my favorite Leelawdee tree. I started it from a branch I snapped off when I was up in the mountains riding around about 5 years ago. It drops every single leaf and sits like this until summer starts. Then a few red flowers show up on top. A few months from now this will be fully populated with leaves.