bamboo project

D has wanted to put in bamboo ever since we moved here almost five years ago.  Our neighbor has a lot of cars and unfinished projects in his front and back yards.  We've done a lot out front to increase our privacy, but there are still gaps.

I never wanted bamboo.  It seemed messy, and I couldn't imagine us having the patience to deal with its upkeep.  Weirdly, the thing that helped change my mind was our trip to Disney world.  I just loved all the bamboo at the Animal Kingdom.  D asked me to listen once, and we could hear the wind knocking the bamboo together, and it sounded so lovely and peaceful.

So I finally said okay to creating a bamboo grove in our back yard. This first picture is of our spot, with a 36"-deep plastic barrier buried on the west/neighbor's side. 

[By the way, if you head south (into the background of the photo), you'll head down the hill and toward the creek.  In order to take this photo, I'm standing on top of our garden room -- right out our upstairs dining area.  This year, we're going to put in a deck here so the bamboo will help give our deck some privacy, too.]

Yesterday I went to Bamboo Garden Nursery in North Plains.  This is a magical place!  First, the drive out there is gorgeous -- lots of lush farmland and winding roads.  Second, it was snowing so, when I descended into the nursery, the environment was otherworldly, hushed, and mysterious. 

Anna showed me around and helped me pick out the right sort of bamboo to achieve the height and screening we needed.  We chose Phyllostachys nigra 'Bory,' which might grow more than 30 feet tall in our climate.  Its culms emerge green and then get patches of brown/gold.  At the Nursery, they call this "tiger bamboo," but I've also heard it called "snake skin bamboo."

Later Dain, a bamboo landscaper and grower, delivered the precious cargo.  Here it is sitting in our front yard, waiting for planting (tomorrow?  if the snow stops?).  The tallest culms here are 15 feet, and Dain told me that we can expect this bamboo to double in size (height and mass) over the next year or so. 

This picture also shows a little of our front berm.  It's pretty naked right now since it's winter, but that grassy area is our low-mow, wildflower "lawn."  It's mostly yarrow and low-growing grasses that don't need much water or mowing.  That orange thing up there on the right is a Spiraea japonica 'Goldflame,' a truly amazing plant that displays a kaleidescope of colors from March through December.  Every week it looks different -- going from this orange to different shades of yellow, green, pink, lavender, and bronze.

So...  the bamboo project begins.  After we plant it, we'll work on the east side of the spot.  We're going to dig a border ditch and fill it with pea gravel so that we can keep control over the rhizomes.  We're going to tie that ditch into the rest of the landscape with some decorative rocks and other plants.  In the middle of the grove or to the side, we'll put a bench or some other sitting spot so that we can enjoy the peacefulness.   Maybe somewhere near here, I'll create my reflexology walkway with river rocks.

Comments

[Cynthia]

Wow...how exciting! I love seeing a bit of your gardens----I am SO impressed. I don't know how you manage all that along with E!!!!

[cathy]

But, Cynthia, we don't manage it along with E. That's the sad thing. Sometimes I sneak out when she's taking a nap. Or, like today, when we hope to plant the bamboo, we're breaking the job into chunks and we'll take turns so that someone can be inside playing with Ellie. Sometimes we do that tag-team thing with all of us outside, too, but it's too cold and wet today.

She gets grumpy and impatient out there unless there's something concrete that she can succeed at.

Meanwhile, the weeds rage because I haven't had time to get out there in too long.

[Bipolarlawyercook]

Very cool. I am looking forward to hearing how it progresses.