The Thai rainy season is in full swing right now. After two months on summer vacations in Europe the garden in Pattaya is green as green can be, the fishpond will overflow soon. Bay leaf seedlings, Vanilla and nutmeg like the never ending rain and thrive. Anna, the goose, is female. The hens are starting to lay eggs. It is nice to be back in rainy Thailand.

Hans Fritschi will be back at Discovery Garden Pattaya and Nong Khai by the beginning of September. But you can visit both gardens during this summer break despite his absence. You can also order such precious plants as Nutmeg, Bay leaves or Thai figs whilst he is away. Just contact us by E-mail beforehand that we can make arrangements.

Today we got 30 new hens. They are four months old and will start to lay eggs within a month. They are very productive hybrid birds that will lay an egg almost every day.

Since yesterday growing Marijuana has become legal in Thailand. On the plants market of Pattaya several dealers offered different plants this morning. The prices ranged between 200 and 2000 Baht.

Absolutely stunning flowers

The most stunning flowers at Discovery Garden Pattaya come from the Money tree (Pachira insignis) or Guiana chestnut. But our trees have never so far produced the delicious edible seeds. So for propagation we have to rely on air-layering which is not so easy with this plant. Thus we have only a few Pachira insignis trees for sale.

Anna hatched in the incubator and believes Hans Fritschi is her mother. She follows him everywhere and needs his company whilst munching delicious grass. Geese in general imprint on the first moving object they see after hatching that is how I became “Mother Goose” by accident.

Thai geese love to eat banana leaves. The green stuff keeps them healthy and for ganders banana leaves or grass are like a natural Viagra. Since grass is rare in the dry season Thai geese have developed a liking for banana leaves. We cut some for them every day.

In Thailand you can buy dried Bay leaves (Laurus nobilis). But can you also grow Bay leaf plants in your Thai garden? Hans Fritschi has grown Bay leaf plants in Thailand for almost fifteen years, but it is not so easy. Bay leaf plants in Thailand do not flower and therefore produce no seeds. So propagation works sometimes with air layering and cuttings.

Strawberry guava thrive right now

Small and tasty red fruits grow on Strawberry guava trees called Psidium cattleyanum with their scientific name. We can eat them raw or prepare excellent jams from them. Those plants even thrive on poor soil or in pots.

Cerbera odollam or Pong Pong tree is a highly decorative addition in your garden. First it produces pretty white flowers and later funny green balls. But those green fruits contain two highly poisonous seeds – one alone is considered enough to kill a human being. For that reason Cerbera odollam is also known as suicide tree. Do not swallow seeds of the suicide tree!