Saturday 30 June 2007

The Old Bamboo





The sun is shining and everything seems possible today. Optimism replacing the creeping mardyness brought on by the cold miserable weather.


We're rediscovering the back door of the barn.


It faces onto the little track that runs down the side of the property. The huge bushy stuff is bamboo. It likes it there but it is taller than the barn and it's knocking the tiles off the roof. Plus it's a nice bit of wall to grow something more useful on. After all how many pea sticks do you need?

Friends want bits for their gardens or for pots on the patio but it's not that genteel designery type of plant. It sends up spears, not shoots, which rapidly grow to 15 or 20 feet tall. I can see us engaging in jungle warfare for some time to come.

I think the tomatoes have had it but it's too nice a day to care.

We have peas, carrots, french beans and spuds, next cold day I'll try making soup. Tomorrow judging by the forecast.

6 comments:

Imperatrix said...

I think you will be fighting it for a while. Bamboo is pretty invasive, and once it has a foothold, it's rather tenacious.

Kitt said...

You definitely have challenge ahead of you, though a bamboo grove can quite lovely if you leave some and put down a root barrier to contain it. Easy for me to say, eh?

I've been to a bamboo nursery in California and it's just an enchanted place, all these winding paths through airy groves of different varieties.

Unknown said...

Hmm - echo good luck trying to get rid of it. The shoots of some species (actually the hearts of the shoots) are edible - but I'm not sure which ones. Aren't I helpful? Some varieties stay put, while others spread. I hate them all, at least in my garden. For pea sticks I'd much rather coppice some alder or hazel.

Breezy said...

Yes I think it's going to be a bit of a B there are two main clumps one at the bottom of the garden and one at the side of he barn. Unfortunately the supermarket on the sign we've uncovered is long gone or we could of been in for some rent!

Anonymous said...

U have an interesting garden, Bamboo - how exotic!

thinking-time.blogspot.com

Breezy said...

Oh anonymous one exotic implies sunshine and lucious fruits if only!