The mansions' front yards-if they are visible over their high walls-are often sterile whereas the little hovels are covered with a riot of flowering vines and potted bushes, or hung with orchids which seem to flower profusely all the time.
How they get orchids to flower continuously is a mystery to me.
How long have your expensive orchids lasted after you bought them? But there they are in the street: phalanopsis, cattleya, dendrobium and others I don't recognize dripping off the rickety bamboo trellises and corrugated walls of the little huts.
One lady-who always greets me with a cheery 'Sawasdee khaaa!' (good morning!) as I stride by-has a big glazed Chinese pot that she's filled with water and in which she grows glorious, scarlet-pink lotuses! I always stop when a new blossom appears and simply stand in admiration-something I never do in front of the mansions.
The lotus lady is tickled, because I'm a farang (foreigner) and because I am admiring the emblematic flower of her religion, Buddhism.
While I'm admiring the lotus she makes her morning offering of incense at the tiny shrine outside her hut.
(Are you beginning to understand why I'm glad I retired to Thailand?) About 100 yards down the road is another of my favorites: 'the vine man'.
His hut is literally on the street, so there's nowhere for him to grow anything.
Yet he's one of the most dedicated and successful horticulturists in Chiang Mai.
His secret is that, on the other side of the narrow soi (lane), about 12 feet from his front door is a one of those high mansion walls.
Fortunately, it's constructed of rough, soft, porous stones mortared together.
At its base, between its foundation and the asphalt, is a strip of dirt 8 inches wide.
Over the years the vine man has collected some of the most beautiful flowering vines in Thailand, planted them in this unpromising dirt strip, and fertilized them with what looks like discarded fish heads.
He's chosen the vines so that, when one of them goes dormant another is coming into bloom.
I've been walking by that wall for almost year and have seem the entire floor show.
It's a non-stop riot of color and perfume.
I've singled out the lotus-lady and the vine-man simply because of the delight they've created with such modest means.
But they aren't unusual.
Thais love beauty and their love of flowers is legendary.
The entire country is always blooming with something exotic.
If you're retired, or thinking or retirement, why not at least plan a visit to this floral wonderland? Take the time to smell the flowers.
It's an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life.
Perhaps you'll even decide to stay...
How they get orchids to flower continuously is a mystery to me.
How long have your expensive orchids lasted after you bought them? But there they are in the street: phalanopsis, cattleya, dendrobium and others I don't recognize dripping off the rickety bamboo trellises and corrugated walls of the little huts.
One lady-who always greets me with a cheery 'Sawasdee khaaa!' (good morning!) as I stride by-has a big glazed Chinese pot that she's filled with water and in which she grows glorious, scarlet-pink lotuses! I always stop when a new blossom appears and simply stand in admiration-something I never do in front of the mansions.
The lotus lady is tickled, because I'm a farang (foreigner) and because I am admiring the emblematic flower of her religion, Buddhism.
While I'm admiring the lotus she makes her morning offering of incense at the tiny shrine outside her hut.
(Are you beginning to understand why I'm glad I retired to Thailand?) About 100 yards down the road is another of my favorites: 'the vine man'.
His hut is literally on the street, so there's nowhere for him to grow anything.
Yet he's one of the most dedicated and successful horticulturists in Chiang Mai.
His secret is that, on the other side of the narrow soi (lane), about 12 feet from his front door is a one of those high mansion walls.
Fortunately, it's constructed of rough, soft, porous stones mortared together.
At its base, between its foundation and the asphalt, is a strip of dirt 8 inches wide.
Over the years the vine man has collected some of the most beautiful flowering vines in Thailand, planted them in this unpromising dirt strip, and fertilized them with what looks like discarded fish heads.
He's chosen the vines so that, when one of them goes dormant another is coming into bloom.
I've been walking by that wall for almost year and have seem the entire floor show.
It's a non-stop riot of color and perfume.
I've singled out the lotus-lady and the vine-man simply because of the delight they've created with such modest means.
But they aren't unusual.
Thais love beauty and their love of flowers is legendary.
The entire country is always blooming with something exotic.
If you're retired, or thinking or retirement, why not at least plan a visit to this floral wonderland? Take the time to smell the flowers.
It's an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life.
Perhaps you'll even decide to stay...
Source...