A Bangkok garden

Jim Thompson's garden, and a few notes on his mysterious disappearance

My first garden visit in Thailand was to that of the American Silk Merchant, Jim Thompson. I took the Khlong Saen Saeb Boat down one of the city’s dark, brooding canals, or the Klong as it is known in Thai, edged by little houses on stilts in which all sorts of activities appear to be taking place; fishing, washing, cooking and various forms of manufacturing.  You can then jump off at the small landing pier and walk up a narrow path which leads to Thompson’s house. The rust-coloured timber is the only one of its kind in this area so you can’t miss it; Thompson literally had this house moved plank by plank from various village houses in the countryside and then reconstructed them as one in this pleasant Bangkok suburb. It must have helped that traditional Thai houses were built without the use of nails.

One of Jim Thompon’s many veranda’s from where he could enjoy his garden

Whilst you are waiting for a guided tour of the house, you can amble round this small but extraordinary garden. The garden feels special because it is really densely planted with a enormous range of tropical species. Many of these tower above the roof of the house. Along with huge palms, there are bananas and tree ferns providing welcome dappled shade and tranquillity from the buzz and searing January heat of Bangkok city. These are underplanted with an array of Aspidistras, Caladiums, Bromeliads, Dieffenbachias, Anthuriums, and many other plants that I couldn’t name. As this was my first day in Thailand, indeed in South East Asia, it was a wonder for me having all these species growing freely in the open air when previously I have only seen them in glasshouses where they are always, of course, restricted and also seem so much smaller; even compared to those in the very large Palm House in Kew, where some specimens are incredibly tall and have to be top pruned to prevent breaching the glasshouse roof.

Phoenix Palm

Indeed every plant in this garden seemed to be bigger, brighter and stronger than normal, almost as if they are on steroids. I thought of my poor banana plant in Manchester, which I was so pleased with at one time but which didn’t fare well this winter, (more on that next), and how pathetic it must look now.

Spathiphyllum friedrichsthalii ( A very large Peace Lily)

Somehow, a very small garden works well when packed in with such large-leaved species and the more that is crammed in, despite there being less space to move around, the bigger the garden is made to feel, which is totally exemplified by Jim Thompson’s creation. It also creates surprises round corners which cannot be seen until you are almost on top of them. Small Buddhist grottoes and beautiful pools of clear, green-brown water, carp slowly meandering between lilies and water ferns, help create light and movement in what otherwise might be quite a still environment, there being so little breeze. Bromeliads, orchids and Asplenium nidus (Bird’s Nest Ferns) are attached to tree trunks with Philodendrons trailing in the canopies.  The plants aren’t labelled so I couldn’t be sure on all the species, and my identification may not be entirely accurate. However, it is the general ambience and design of this space that is the main pull of this small unique garden; it is bold, dramatic and a mass of colour in an otherwise almost treeless neighbourhood.

Alocasia macrorrhizos (giant Taro) in pond of carp

A tour of the house is really interesting and provides an insight into the sentiments of this man. He was said to have raised thousands of Thai people out of poverty by reinvigorating the silk industry and allowing women to continue to work at home weaving. He is still treated as quite the hero.

There is also his collection of antiquities, mainly from China and Malaysia; we are told that he would only purchase broken sculptures so as to not risk them being stolen. From the interior of the house you can see how the greenery encroaches into the austere, cool rooms, in some cases actually sending in tendrils feeling for space and clinging to the dark, panelled walls.

Tree Fern viewed from the interior of the house

Of course the most fascinating thing about Jim Thompson is his sudden disappearance in 1969, when aged 61.  He and his long-term female companion were on vocation in the Malaysia Cameroon Highlands, staying with some old friends in ‘Moonlight Bungalow.’ Following afternoon tea he left the bungalow, telling the other three members of the party that he was going for a stroll. He never returned and, despite extensive search parties, no trace of him has ever been found. Tracker dogs were flummoxed when the scent came to a sudden end on the road he’d last been seen walking along.

Various theories of his vanishing into thin air include murder, although there was no body; kidnap, despite there being no ransom; that he had voluntarily left to do secret work for the US Government in resolving the Vietnam War, (perhaps because he had been a spy during WW2); or that he was the victim of a hit-and-run who had then dumped his body in a swamp or somewhere a long way from the place of death. Then there was said to be a sighting of him in Tahiti some months after his disappearance, but that amounted to nothing substantial. In 1985 some fragments of bones were found near the place where the trail went dry. However, whilst these are still being kept in a police safe, there is no evidence that they belonged to Jim Thompson.

Bizarrely, a few months following his disappearance, Thompson’s sister was murdered, in what appeared to be a bungled burglary in her home in the US. No one was ever convicted of her murder so that remains a mystery too. There was a theory that someone was after papers relating to her brother’s estate. In any event, the enigma continues. Seven years after he was last seen in Malaysia, the Thai authorities declared him dead and, fortunately for us, his relatives agreed that his house and its contents should remained in Thailand and funding made available for it to be maintained by the Arts Centre so that we can all go and visit, and well worth a visit it is too.

Looking at what I believe to be Alpina purpurata (Vieill) or Red Ginger