Those of you who have read my blog for a while* might remember that my Wonderful Husband loves bamboo…and I don’t! I have been (not so) secretly hoping it would die for a decade. The stuff doesn’t die, but if the temperature gets down to 10 degrees F, the above ground parts will die off, leaving bare stalks of bamboo. These bare stalks don’t exactly contribute to that lush, green appearance most people want for the landscapes.

Bamboo

This winter killed off the top portions of the black bamboo, so poor Wonderful Husband had to cut down all the dead bamboo stalks. The stalks were so hard and tough, he had to order a special blade for his weed-whacker – the noise he made sounded like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or maybe a dull drill in a dentist’s office. It was bad! He had to clear about 300 square feet because the bamboo does a really, really good job of spreading. I felt like he deserved it.

Then he had to haul all of the cut stalks to the back of our property, which took two weekends to finish. I kept of few of the stalks, with the idea that I would make old-fashioned fishing poles out of them so I could teach my grandson to fish.

Raised Bed Garden

Switching over to another garden project, we finally finished the concrete block raised bed garden I’d been planning since last summer. We transplanted tomato seeds which we’d started indoors and I bought sweet basil, Greek oregano, dill, sage, and tarragon plants and tucked them in. I even scattered some zinnia and marigold seeds in the raised bed.

And then, just as we finished, a horrible thought occurred to both of us at the same time…how do we keep the deer out? And the rabbits? And the squirrels? What shall we do? Yeah, it was like a scene in an old time melodrama.

Necessity being the Mother of Invention, I grabbed some of the smaller, lighter bamboo poles and stuck them in the concrete block holes. I took more stalks and lightly laid them over the garden bed. My reasoning was that the deer might not (if they weren’t too hungry) like the prickly feel and rustling sound of the bamboo when they touched it. I’d just have to take my chances with the squirrels and rabbits.

So far, so good! The tomatoes have grown tall enough that they need some staking and guess what? Yup!   I used some more bamboo poles. Now my beautiful lilies need supporting and more bamboo poles will do the job nicely. I’m thinking of trying to make a trellis next.

So, although I really hate to admit it, bamboo can have its uses.

Stay Green, Good Friends!

*see “Proof That I Love My Wonderful Husband”