Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens

....Thanks to Craig for posting our photos from Pittsburgh...

This morning I hired a driver to take me approximately 2 hours south to a coastal area called Pattaya. A driver is hired for approximately 4,000 baht per day. This fee includes driver, car, gas, etc. I met the driver in the lobby and headed south to see Nong Nooch Tropical Garden. Guide books list it as a cultural attraction (elephant, monkey, and cultural shows) though my horticultural contacts have told me that it is the place to see traditional architecture and millions of plants.

On the mile of approach roads palms were lined up in cement pots. Each pot was spaced about 3 feet from its neighbor; each pot had a drip irrigation emitter. I knew I was in for a treat when I saw this sort of formality. We pulled into the entrance; my driver paid my admission and got me a map. I knew I’d have some ground to cover. We decided I’d need at least 3 hours though I’d have his cell phone if I needed more time. I did need more time!

I ended up spending the whole day and didn’t get back to Bangkok till about 9:30pm. I took 286 photos! For those of you who know me well you’re probably nodding and remembering the time I took you to a garden with me.

I stayed away from the touristy core of the property and concentrated my efforts on the acres of gardens at the perimeter. There is an Orchid House, Bromeliad House, Garden Railroad, Butterfly House, Canna Field, French Garden, Topiary Garden, Bonsai Garden, Variety Garden, Cactus Garden, Palm Collection Garden, Heliconia Garden, and on and on…. The gardens are extremely well maintained. I kept thinking that it must take an army to clip all of the formal hedges and topiary forms. I did run into the army later on in the day when I heard feverish shear clipping (like sounds from the movie Edward Scissorhands) and came upon a group of 15 gardeners with hedge shears (2131).

2131

I loved seeing a field of cannas (2205) and the nursery areas. On my way out of exploring the nursery areas I found out that the shade houses are not open to the public (oops). The Adenium (2114) and back up bonsai (2095) go on as far as the eye can see. Also in my “Do Not Enter” adventure I enjoyed the Climbing Plants Garden. This garden is a collection of vines that are grown on posts resembling a portable clothesline. To my delight each of these plants had a display label and many were in flower. My favorites were the Beaumontia murtonii (large white flowers, thick vines), Xerosicyos perrieri (looks like succulent silver dollars on a vine), and the Porana volubilis (a flower resembling a crepe myrtle that hangs from the vine) (2118).

2205

2114

2095

2118


In looking at the plantings up close, I discovered that nearly all of the plants are staged in clay pots. The balls that I am standing in front of have a rebar frame which supports 6” clay pots of Celosia and Alternanthera (2019). In my ‘behind the scenes’ adventures I stumbled upon the Pottery Making Center. Three young men were forming the clay pots that are used for bonsai, display, and starter materials (2088). The pots are called iron pots, their color is much more brown than our standard terra cotta pots. Terra cotta is used here in Thailand and it was well displayed in the Pottery Display Garden (2028) where clay pots are used to create wall screens, lamp posts, a life sized tuk tuk and an elephant.

2019

2088

2028

I enjoyed all of the display gardens (palm, orchid, heliconia, bromeliad) because of the creative ways in which the plants are arranged. I was disappointed that very few of the plants have display labels. In the Bromeliad House, the Bromeliads are arranged by height and prominence is given to those in the bowls at the tops of the stone pedestals (2037). In the Orchid house Spanish moss is hung from clips. Many of the other Orchids are also grown in hanging pots (2056) though some are in pots on the patio that are changed out when they are no longer in bloom (2058).

2037

2056

2058

The garden is a bit difficult to navigate and the map is a bit deceiving but the vistas are worth the effort. (2005, 2135) Two great examples are the swirled garden that is viewed from the restaurant / vending area and the Thai pavilion in the distance just past the European Garden. I would consider the Thai Pavilion garden areas the highlight of my visit…and they aren’t even on the map! Artistic horticulture is seen everywhere including the “ball garden” (2145) and the “elephant exit” (2200) in parking lot 3.

2005

2135

2145

2200

I’ll leave you with a smile. Here are some cacti smiley faces from the Nong Nooch Garden Shop (2156). They are priced at 20 baht which is about 50 cents.

2156

We’re headed to Ayutthaya (the ancient city) in a few hours. KD