But Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai has taken this concept a step further to allow families to literally plant their own Family Tree within the 20 acres of the Resort’s beautiful gardens.

Families can plant their own Rachapruek (Indian Laburnum) tree, or Golden Flower tree, which is one of Thailand’s nine auspicious trees that were adopted as the national trees two years ago. Its beautiful yellow flowers traditionally relate to the monarchy and to Monday, the king’s day of birth. (Buddhism assigns colours to each day of the week, which are then considered to be one’s colour for life.) Rachapruek trees are easy to plant.

Each tree will be marked with a family’s name and date of planting, so guests can come back year after year to see their trees grow and blossom.

The tree planting starts at 10:00 am with refreshing cold drinks. Then it’s time to get your hands dirty by planting your Family Tree on the Resort’s grounds. When you’ve finished planting, your family can pose for a commemorative picture that will help you chart your tree’s growth over the years.

A 30-minute shoulder and reflexology foot massage by the pool is your reward for the hard labour of the morning. Lunch at either Terraces or Sala Mae Rim follows.

The landscape design at Four Seasons Chiang Mai is truly an art form that continues to develop with each year’s growth. The Resort’s grounds feature two small lakes, streams, waterfalls and a working rice farm, complete with a very special family of water buffalo. The gardens have a selection of about 300 varieties of plants and trees, some very rare and exotic. A team of 40 gardeners will lovingly tend your Family Tree over the months and years to come.

View special value room packages at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai