Bamboo Grove

I'm not a bamboo fan.  At the Huntington, teenagers like to carve their names or obscenities into the canes:
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I have to admit, though that the Huntington's grove of giant timber bamboo is a wonderous thing.  
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The path through the grove leads to a pond...
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...where a green heron waited to spear a fish...
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...all around us teens, now free from the need to mutilate bamboo canes, focused obsessively on their texting...
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...while I turned and saw, courtesy of the winter sun, how completely enchanting bamboo can be:
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Comments

  1. Ah a convert? :)

    That grove would be even more impressive if it were better maintained. The dead culms should be removed, as it really makes a huge difference in the final look of the grove.

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    1. Well, certainly an appreciator.

      It's a huge grove, and gets maintenance once every few years (not often).

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  2. I love bamboo, I have seen many varieties in other people’s garden and I so wish I could find space in my own garden for some. I especially like those with purple or black stems, they are wonderful. I have been to the bamboo garden at Kew Botanical Gardens in London, many years ago, that’s a magical place :-)
    Loved the photo of the names inscribed, never heard about such a tradition before!

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    1. The tradition of plant vandalism! There are signs asking that the bamboo not be autographed, but the kids do it anyway. Yes those black stemmed Bamboo are dramatic!

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  3. With huge culms like that, both majestic and enchanting!

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    1. It does create an imposing mood. They tower above and make humans seem a bit inconsequential.

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  4. I've a love/hate relationship with bamboo! I love the way it looks but hate how far it can spread. (I planted runners years ago before people were talking about barriers & now get to dig trenches annually.) The giant bamboos are my favorites although I prefer the culms without graffiti.

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    1. Wow, that must be work. On the other hand, if you want to build your own Tiki bar, you have the material...

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  5. As an unintentional beneficiary of some of the naughtier bamboo graffiti, I can't entirely disapprove of it. My parents "helpfully" (clandestinely) removed some of the Arboretum's more disfigured culms sometime in the early '80s, for use, eventually, in an elaborate headboard for my childhood bedroom. Said headboard was assembled so that all the juiciest illustrations faced the wall, away from prying eyes, but I eventually wised up and snuck more than a couple peaks when their backs were turned. Good times.

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    1. Mom and Dad sound very creative--that must have been fun!

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    2. They were hooligans and really inept carpenters, but I think they meant well.

      Your photograph of the texting teenagers reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe a Prendergast painting? Something Impressionist and with people in public gardens, looking preoccupied.

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  6. I'll bet that two of those girls are texting each other about the third.

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