Behind Tesco Lotus on the Super Highway number 11 there is a huge nursery area with street after street of plant shops and associated products. Gaun and I headed there today because I wanted to revisit a cafe for the second time that is beautifully situated right in the middle of the nurseries, blog story HERE, and also take some photos for this post.
Decked out in my coffee testing gear. I get more handsome by the day over here.
I knew we wouldn’t get away without buying a plant or three as Gaun and I can’t resist the temptation of so much for so little. It was a Sunday and most of Chiang Mai seemed to have turned up to shop for plants. The same as visiting Rodneys or Bunnings on a weekend in Canberra. We are trying to be good in NOT buying plants because they will all have to be transported to Isaan when we move there in November but……..
This is one of many roads lined with plant shops at a quieter moment. Even monks buy plants as you can see.
Smaller pots such as those orange flowers in front of Gaun will cost maybe $1.00. These isn’t anything at ground level in this photos over $7.00.
Hard not to buy these colours.
Not really! A Thai marketing effort.
Full sized trees are remarkably cheap.
You’d get one of these for not much over $100.00
More full sized trees for sale.
A wooden furniture shop mixed in with the plants.
Cute.
Haven’t seen these before.
$0.30 each.
It’s not all about the flowers of course. There are lots of accessories for the garden available here some of which are maybe more tasteful than others.
A taste of Australia.
Heaps of strawberries grown in Chiang Mai in season but most of them are inedible. These a reminder of what might have been.
A gaggle available for your garden.
Have this on order. Right up there with the peeing boy.
Every time we have come here there are reminders that this is a commercial area catering to the professional gardening people as well as casual shoppers like us.
Stocking up. In Australia you’d need an armed guard for the value of this ute load.
Endless choice.
Food in regular quantities is needed to keep Thais going and here it comes to you.
Selling home made coconut ice cream, $0.30, and lottery tickets!
These were out first plant purchase here. We are buying longer term things now to ship to Isaan. Gaun is finishing off a fresh pineapple smoothie – $1.20.
There is an Isaan song I love that starts off with words that sound like Pucka Yeng and the photo below is off Pucka Yeng, which is a plant. Gaun tells me that it is very tasty with snails! Isaan songs are either about love lost or something relating to food. This particular song goes on to say how happy the farmers are when the rains arrive because there will be plenty of frogs to catch. Not a topic that will hit Triple J anytime soon I’m thinking. You can listen to this song in two different versions HERE
Packa Yeng – but not spelt this way I’m sure.
We called into a pharmacy yesterday to get something for me for a cough that won’t go away and they were selling a green drink in a bottle and sitting on ice from the front counter. Gaun bought one and it was quite tasty. The photo below is of the plant that makes this drink. It is boiled up, blended with sugar and water added. How much more informative Thailand is with a Thai partner.
Available at your local pharmacy in liquid form.
No nursery would be complete here without an area offering orchids:
You can get three small orchids for $3.50 not these ones I hasten to add.
I can never get enough of these beautiful plants.
Don’t touch Gaun.
Water plants are popular too. Lotus plants here.
I can’t get over how stylish that hat is. From Isaan rockets to Chiang Mai flowers it just fits in seamlessly.
A more adventuresome range of pavers than you’ll find at Bunnings.
Yes you can get fir trees here. Gaun is carrying her purchase of some pink concrete mushrooms but you won’t be seeing a photo of them!
How could you pass up one of these?
My personal favourite. I do love a woman with a gun.
Terracotta garden ornaments made on site.
I actually loved this figure. At $250.00 not a bargain but I am thinking of negotiating for it.
Another cafe, closed today, that I will report back on.
A garden design business.
Cars here are kept going well past their use-by date in Australia. A Mazda ute when they made them pocket sized.
Another reminder of Australia.
My final photo of Gaun working in our garden on the plants we bought today. That yellow flowered vine in front of her we got for $1.00. Oh dear – no Photoshop – pink mushrooms in the background. Happy Gaun = happy Tony.
GPS: N18 48.314 E098 59.887
Thanks for reading.
Very nicely done Tony. I think we’re going there very soon!
Thanks Bobby.
I am sure it has expanded and improved in the years since we were there last. We have been based in the North East for several years now I do miss the variety and choice of plants all in the one area mixed up with a few cafes. You could almost make a day of it. I haven’t seen anything to rival it our way. I hope you caught the Chiang Mai flower festival, which looked nice from the photos some friends sent us.
Enjoy. Tony
Hello again! We live in Doi Saket and now that we have a car we are going later today. It’s not that far from us. The wife is pretty excited as one would imagine.
We saw the prep for the flower festival a day before it started but didn’t go. I did see some great photos online though.
Thanks for getting back with an update Bobby. Most don’t. I hope the gardening expedition was a success.
Great photo’s Did you run across any bonsai trees/plants for sale?
Yes. In the big plant markets behind Tesco Lotus on the ringroad highway 11. Many plant shops and some bonsai around this area https://goo.gl/cjQQeA Google Maps.
Tony
Are the pink mushrooms magic?
Have tried but they are a bit hard. Must be past their use-by date.