'Every time I come to water this mango tree, I can't help crying. It reminds me a lot of how much His Majesty did for the public all his life, which was substantial and required a great deal of effort to achieve, despite being in a position deserving a convenient life," said Panya Naknilthong, a gardener at the King Rama IX Park, told the Bangkok Post in a recent interview.
Mr Panya was referring to a wild mango tree the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej planted during a visit to inaugurate the park on Dec 1, 1987.
The 50-year-old was assigned to take care of the special tree on the first day he started working in the park in 1988.
The wild tree is in an area called Island 2, which is in front of the Thakon Phrakiat Building and about 200 metres from Gate 4 of the park.
About 10m away from the late King's wild mango tree stands the Nam Dok Mai mango tree (Mangifera indica Linn) planted by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.
The trees have remained in the same place since the day they were planted.
When Mr Panya began taking care of the tree it stood at about 2 metres tall. The tree hasn't grown much given its current height of only 5m.
The gardener blamed that on the condition of the soil in the park.
The park used to be a thickly wooded area and when it was converted into the park, soil from elsewhere was brought as landfill.
Mr Panya said the topsoil isn't loose enough while the layer underneath it holds a high volume of water, which isn't suitable for trees whose roots tend to grow deep.
"We're trying to improve the condition of the soil with manure and by drilling holes into the ground layer underneath the topsoil and then filling them with fertilisers and minerals. Some pesticides and insecticides are also added [occasionally]," he said.
Panya Naknilthong, a gardener at King Rama IX Park, says it is a labour of love tending to the mango tree planted by the late King. For him, pruning and watering the tree makes him feel like the late King is still here. photos by Somchai Poomlard
The trees only need to be watered twice a day because as they do not need that much, he said.
The tree normally bears fruit in December, said Mr Panya adding that some of the mangoes are picked and sent to the park's Hall of Plant Species where researchers conduct studies on them.
"The rest of the mangoes collected from the late King's tree are usually sun-dried before being given away to people who want them as keepsakes to remind them of the late King" Mr Panya said.
He received a shock one morning last month when he found the tree had toppled over in the night during a storm on Sept 28. Mr Panya said the storm was particularly bad and had also toppled about 200 other trees in the park.
"We then rushed to trim the roots and prune the tree as quickly as possible before setting it back into an upright position and supporting it with some wooden poles.
Soon after this week's Royal Cremation Ceremony, park officials will start installing a metal scaffolding structure to support the tree permanently, he said.
Mr Panya said he never had time to go to pay his respects to the late King at the Grand Palace, but he vowed to carry on looking after the tree.
"I will dedicate my time and energy to protecting His Majesty's wild mango tree and keep it alive as long as possible. With the mango tree still here, I feel as if the late King is still with us," he said.
Since the late King's tree was planted 30 years ago, some have speculated why the monarch chose to plant the wild mango.
Sasiwan Wongsiriprasert, the current park head, said a mango tree is depicted in Phra Mahachanok, a famous book written by the late King.
In Phra Mahajanaka, a mango tree is used as a metaphor for several moral lessons and wisdom in life, he said.
In the book, a mango tree in an orchard was ruined after greedy people took its fruit and left it unkempt.
The main character, Phra Mahachanok, was saddened by the course of events and attained wisdom to understand the nature of greed and exploitation.
Phra Mahajanaka, tried to look after the mango tree until it bore fruit again.
