These photographs are all of our patch of bamboo.

The Green Living Tips Website has an excellent article on bamboo. 

“Bamboo is the world's fastest growing plant and some species of bamboo can grow up to a foot a day in the right conditions……

The bamboo plant can be used for: baskets, bicycle frames, bird cages, blinds, boats, bridges, brushes, buckets, canoes, carts, charcoal, chopsticks, clothing, cooking utensils, diapers, fans, fences, firewood, fishing rods, food steamer, furniture, garden tools, handicrafts, hats, incense, musical instruments, paper, particle board, pens, pipes, ply ,roofing, scaffold, tableware, toilets, toothpicks, toys, umbrellas, walking sticks….

and food!”    Read the entire article.

Bamboo’s structure looks like wood, but it is a grass.  Beautiful flooring can be purchased at your local flooring center made from Bamboo.  Towels for your bath, sheets for your bed…

My husband is the "green thumb" at our house.  I think he inherited this from his mother, who can grow just about anything.  When I have a plant question, I always ask either one of them.  The Bamboo patch on the farm is his.

He purchased a bamboo root from Edible Landscaping in the state of Washington many years ago.  It has taken a while but the roots are strong and now it produces shoots of great size. 

One thing that is evident, though, is IF you plant bamboo, you want to have a means to control it’s spread.  It will spread out.  You do not want your bamboo being the neighbor’s problem. 

These  plants are now producing stalks that I cannot reach around. 

It’s amazing to watch it grow. 

It grows well in parts of Southeast Oklahoma, depending upon your soil type, etc. 

That very thing causes me to repeat… Plan how you are going to contain it BEFORE you plant it so that it will not become a nuisance for you or the neighbors. 

Presley Byington, a native Choctaw that lives here in Idabel, Oklahoma has used bamboo from our patch to make flutes.  They are beautiful. 

This one was given to me as a gift by Presley.  Presley is a member of the Turtle Island Storytellers. 

He is a talented musician and dancer.  He performs native costume.  This photo of the flute that he gave me was taken with my cell phone.  I will replace it with a better one later.

Handmade flutes can be purchased from Presley.

Bamboo is such an interesting plant.  I have enjoyed watching it.  It stays green in the winter.  A time or two, the cows have gotten into the patch and they like it too!   One of it's relatives, Switch Cane, is often found along creeks in our area.   There are many places online to order bamboo roots.  Follow the planting directions and enjoy...with caution to it's spread.

Life in Southeast Oklahoma is GREAT!  If you're looking for a home or land in my part of the country, give me a call:  Judi Barrett, broker, Integrity Real Estate Services, 580-212-5946.  Or visit one of our websites:

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Photos and Text are © Copyright 2009 Judi Barrett, Integrity Real Estate Services- All rights reserved.
Do not reproduce or reprint without the express written permission of Judi Barrett.