Last week, something really spectacular occurred
in my little corner garden!!
We added some MAJESTIC, Tropical
BAMBOO
to our piece of Paradise!!
HOW COOL IS THAT?!!??!?!?!
in my little corner garden!!
We added some MAJESTIC, Tropical
BAMBOO
to our piece of Paradise!!
HOW COOL IS THAT?!!??!?!?!
I must admit my fear of bamboo...
I'd always heard of it's aggressive, invasive qualities
so I only admired it from afar.
However, there are many varieties of clumping bamboo
that are NOT invasive.
Hallelujah!!
I'd always heard of it's aggressive, invasive qualities
so I only admired it from afar.
However, there are many varieties of clumping bamboo
that are NOT invasive.
Hallelujah!!
Clumping bamboo still grows in a 360 degree pattern,
but within inches of each other
and only to a diameter of approximately 10-20 feet.
Another exciting factoid...it's cold tolerant...even to 10 derees F!
AND...as if that's not exciting enough,
bamboo reaches maturity in about 3-1/2 years.
It makes a fantastic hedge / privacy screen in no time.
After a bit of conversation about it,
my husband and I decided to head down the road
to one of our local nurseries, Jupiter Jungle.
This nursery offers wonderful varieties of bamboo,
citrus and rare fruit trees, palms, and orchids.
It's owned and operated by a great guy named
Russell, aka"the jungle man".
Russell is such an interesting gentleman
that we ended up spending the next couple of hours
chatting with him and his son, Shane!!
(great name, by the way!)
Russ is the kind of guy that you're really glad
to be friends with...sincere, kind, and genuine.
So what did we get?
my husband and I decided to head down the road
to one of our local nurseries, Jupiter Jungle.
This nursery offers wonderful varieties of bamboo,
citrus and rare fruit trees, palms, and orchids.
It's owned and operated by a great guy named
Russell, aka"the jungle man".
Russell is such an interesting gentleman
that we ended up spending the next couple of hours
chatting with him and his son, Shane!!
(great name, by the way!)
Russ is the kind of guy that you're really glad
to be friends with...sincere, kind, and genuine.
So what did we get?
Bambusa textilis gracilis...
a lovely "graceful" bamboo variety.
This type is tightly clumping and very erect
with gracefully nodding leaves giving an Asian garden ambiance.
We opted to plant it next to the pond,
accented by the water lilies.
Check out a more mature speciman at
We also brought home the lovely
China Gold Bamboo,
or officially, Bambusa eutuldoides var ‘Viridi vittata’.
Mature bamboo will grow to 2.5-3 inches in diameter.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Decorative is an understatement with China Gold...
golden canes, or culms as they call them,
with bright green vertical stripes...a show stopper!
We placed this one in our newly formed Asian garden.
Here's a shot of the young striped trunks...
Quite a difference from the mature trunks above,
but it won't take long for this beauty to bulk up.
After a couple of days, Russ, aka Jungle Man,
asked that I stop by.
I knew Russ had something on his mind,
but like I said before, he's the kind of guy
that you just want to hang out with.
So I was happy to stop by.
This is what was on Russ' mind....
Yup...the Jungle Man gifted me this
AMAZINGLY AWESOME Vulgaris (wamin),
or DWARF BUDHA BELLY BAMBOO!!!!
I probably shouldn't boast Russ' generousity,
but this is the heart of the jungle,
as it beats in the Jungle Man, my friend, Russell!!
Many, many thanks!!!!
What makes the Budha Belly Bamboo
so extraordinary is its knotty canes
and its manageable height of 15'.
Check out JupiterJungle.com
for a glimpse of a gorgeous mature Budha!
To make matters even MORE exciting (if it's possible)
bamboo wasn't the only newcomer last week.
I was gifted a poor soul of an orchid by a coworker.
The plant was found on a construction job site.
Although it's definitely seen better days,
bamboo wasn't the only newcomer last week.
I was gifted a poor soul of an orchid by a coworker.
The plant was found on a construction job site.
Although it's definitely seen better days,
it'll be back to good health shortly.
I gave it a good drink, and the roots plumped right up!!
I gave it a good drink, and the roots plumped right up!!
I think this variety is a Paphiopedilum, or a Lady Slipper.
There's no way for an amateur like me
to know for certain, though, until it flowers
...which could be a while.
I'm not sure if the burned leaves are the result of
sunburn or our cold winter temps.
I repotted in two seperate pots,
and will keep moist in filtered light.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
A reader (see comments below...Anonymous - Thank you!) has identified this orchid as an invasive African Orchid commonly named Monk Orchid, or Oeceoclades maculata. My orchid completely matches the description, down to the obvious seed pods. Although it is considered invasive, I will keep it, and control it by housing it in a screened area and disposing of the seed pods before they mature.
Looking back,
it's been an especially CRAAAAZY week,
but my new garden additions have provided
so much peace, tranquility, and joy
to me and my ever-evolving
Garden in Paradise!!
There's no way for an amateur like me
to know for certain, though, until it flowers
...which could be a while.
I'm not sure if the burned leaves are the result of
sunburn or our cold winter temps.
I repotted in two seperate pots,
and will keep moist in filtered light.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
A reader (see comments below...Anonymous - Thank you!) has identified this orchid as an invasive African Orchid commonly named Monk Orchid, or Oeceoclades maculata. My orchid completely matches the description, down to the obvious seed pods. Although it is considered invasive, I will keep it, and control it by housing it in a screened area and disposing of the seed pods before they mature.
Looking back,
it's been an especially CRAAAAZY week,
but my new garden additions have provided
so much peace, tranquility, and joy
to me and my ever-evolving
Garden in Paradise!!
14 comments:
Congrats on the bamboos!
I have the varigated as well as a budda belly and some timber along the neighbors fence.Its cool stuff as long as you can keep it growing where you want it.
BUT-about that orchid, I'm afraid that it is not a Paph, but rather an African Orchid that is an invasive exotic!! They have been found to be working their evil way towards the north.They have a rather insignificant brown flower and grow seed pods after.If you keep it at least destroy the seed pods when they form please!
Wow, bamboos and lily pond, definitely sounds like an asian themed garden! That would be my dream, but won't be in the land I am having now. Those bamboos will look beautifully next to your pool.
As of the orchid, it looks very like the wild orchid I found in my yard if you still remeber my posts about it => http://sefloridagardenevolvement.blogspot.com/2010/09/mystery-wild-orchids-in-blooming.html. I hope it is the lady slipper, since mine (Oeceoclades maculata) only has very small flowers, and considered as "invasive" plant in south florida.
Your garden is like a real corner of Paradise Kimberly.
Have a great day.
Costas
Oh I envy you to have the room to grow bamboo and they will look lovely in an asian theme.
Oh dear! I'm not happy to hear that I have yet ANOTHER invasive...and I've actually invited this one into my yard! I've kept it in a pot, though, vs. adding it to my landscape. I'm going to have to do some research about this. So disapointing as I've been working REALLY hard to rid my yard of invasives!! UGH!
But the bamboo cheers me up!
Your bamboo is gorgeous. I am the happy owner of a hedge of multiplex 'fernleaf' which is a clumping type. I was told that when the clump gets to the size you want just cut the outer culms at ground level and they will die and the clump will stay the size you want it. I haven't gotten to that point yet as mine is still filling in but I love the look. You seem to have plenty of room for yours and the perfect spot to showcase it by the pond.
I really like the China Gold.I wish I had space for some bamboo,but I am afraid I may have reached my space limits.I have always wanted a bamboo hege.
I must admit to NOT being very fond of bamboo, but we have a number of friends that have fought locally with the invasive varieties, and spent thousands of dollars trying to eradicate them, often unsuccessfully. That said, I know there are more well behaved varieties, and I'm glad you chose those. The China Gold is quite stunning with it's variegated leaves, and I honestly wasn't expecting the canes to be striped too! How unique!
You are going to love those bamboos. We love ours. Ours have stayed in quite tight clumps but if any try to stray it's just a matter of knocking off the new shoot with your foot and fertilising in the centre of the clump to encourage it to remain tight. They do drop a lot of leaves at certain times of the year but that's a bonus if you need mulch.
Since you have a wide property those bamboos will look happy there. We have lots of them here in the country. Just last weekend i took a photo of a very big clump of buddha bamboo from my travel in an island resort, very beautiful if properly tended. I remember they have lots of them also in major parks in Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam.
I am loving the China Gold Bambo soooo much. I am tempted, sorely tempted.
Hey Kimberly...
I love the look of bamboo, and that variegated variety is gorgeous. It does make a wonderful green fence. Do your varieties grow slow or are they fairly fast growers.
Also, I just wanted to let you know there's a "caladium giveaway" going on at my other blog: http://centralfloridagardener.blogspot. If you'd like a chance to win one of the two $55 gift certificates for some caladium bulbs from Happiness Farms, please head over there and leave a comment by Wednesday at midnight. Have a great weekend!
They'll tell you that clumoping bamboo isn't invasive. Mind you, they said that about the Nazis too!
My sister had a falling out with clumping bamboo. The other thing she did when thinning it out was cut the top of her finger off with the pruners! And she's the smart one in the family!!!
I love bamboo and also have it in my backyard. Its the clumping kind and stays pretty much to its own area. If it starts to invade, dig a trench around the base and put a 6inch metal liner in the ground. this will prevent the roots from spreading. good luck with it!
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