The Magic of a Thai Rainy Season Garden
The hibiscus bowed her head patiently to yet another brief but intense monsoonal deluge, which made the tiling steam.
Twenty minutes later, she cautiously looked up as the hot sun broke through.
The “I’m headed for the beach“, “don’t like the rain” sunchasers don’t know what they’re missing. Maybe their expat lives in concrete apartment blocks don’t allow them to appreciate the magic of a Thai rainy season garden. Or maybe they’re so intent on creating their dream that they miss the beauty of the moments they sidestep like puddles.
It CAN be tempting to look out of the window and see only this:
But a Thai rainy season garden needs you to get some rubber shoes on, brave the soggy and the mud, and get a little up close and personal. Lift up the leaves of the “I’m starting to feel better” krachai….
And be rewarded with THIS, lurking under the caterpillar-eaten leaves:
The Anchan (blue butterfly pea) is literally singing
Both the acerola cherry and the mulberry are BUSY flowering and beginning to set fruit.
And the lotus is in her watery element. The rain drops on her leaves are just as entrancing, only differently, as her exotic blooms.
A garden walk between Thai rainy season deluges is truly a life lesson in mindfulness; it’s a reminder to looks past the mud, the puddles, the inconvenience, the steamy-hot-sticky and the dripping from the leaking roof in the kitchen.
How hot is it? The sunny daytime between-the-rain-showers gets to about 33-34C (think the 90s for the Americans in the room) and the humidity is hovering in the 90% range too. At times, at night when the cloud cover is thick and the breeze picks up, it can feel as if the cosmic airconditioning is just a little too cool.
The Thai garden is a like any other garden around the world – a mirror for the mindful soul, a delight and nourishment for the body. Let the sunchasers run, and enjoy the quiet of fewer customers and the magic of a little time to be reflective. August is a wonderful time to explore and enjoy the magic of Thailand…. between deluges.
BlissednBlessed in my Thai natural world.
All images are my own and snapped with my 3rd-hand-gifted Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Thank you, Sang Min. x
This post was originally published on my own blog Natural Thai Life. Come check it out sometimes.
Hello
I liked the walk in the Thai garden
Very beautiful flowers, especially with raindrops. Probably the smell is very pleasant in the flowers.
Thank you for this poetic walk through your garden and the reminder to be still and observe so that we can all bare witness to the many treasures that surround us.
Being in the PNW there is a lot of rain here as well. I love the look of raindrops hanging off the edge of bright fern leaves
Rainy season here in Suriname too now. We now realize there are so many plants we thought were native to SE Asia that are actually from here in S America and the Caribbean.
Love those Se-Asian flowers. Seems like you guys are getting all the rain.... Sunny and hot here in Cambodia... Have a lovely day
I always believe the rain will bring a magical moment for everyone. I love so much rain. Thanks for sharing this beautiful post.
Wow....wow....these pictures are so fresh and alive. I thoroughly enjoy rains, it is so refreshing for the mind. I miss it here in Muscat :-(
I love the gardens after the rains, although we do not get the monsoon rains or heat I can see where those breaks inbetween can really be appreciated and good for the soul!
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing!