My associate in Thailand, Moongmink, is a real hardcore flower and garden enthusiast. Just recently she attended Bangkok’s premier Home & Garden Fair, an annual event organized by Baan Lae Suan, the famous Thai Home and Garden Magazine. Here’s her detailed report:

I feel that the Home and Garden Fair comes at the right time as a lot of Bangkokians are suffering from stress due to political instability and economic slow down. To avoid the crowds, we went there on a weekday. Large areas were provided for the various flower and plant contests - orchids, fern, cactus, etc. – and there were many garden exhibits based on the concept of the English Cottage Garden.

While the focal point of this Garden Fair was on English Cottage Gardens, I am surprised that I didn’t see any farang expats or visitors from England. I am curious as to how many tourists actually attended the Fair; maybe they were out exploring some of the beautiful botanical gardens located in Northern Thailand - Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens in Chiang Mai and Mah Fah Luang Garden at Doi Tung in Chiang Rai Province come to mind.

Overall I enjoyed myself at Garden Fair, however I feel that the organizers should have allocated more space for the English Cottage Garden exhibit and contest. I must admit that this is my favorite garden style - whenever I see an English cottage garden in garden magazines, I often fantasize of a page from a fairly tale where a little girl comes out of nowhere walking through the garden. Typically this type of garden has many walkways, trellises/arbors as well as vine covered fences and an assortment of small shrubs and small trees surrounding a small cottage. Needless to say, standing in front of the exhibited garden corner, my imagination could not work! The exhibit was just too cramped.

Believe it or not, I have dreams of creating a little English cottage garden on my own plot of land in Chiang Dao, a small town located not far from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Maybe the fairy tale will come true!