MORE BAMBOO

I've made it to the month of March ... finally. This is the month where Spring is "officially" arriving -- on Saturday the 20th -- although I know from experience, we sometimes get more Winter weather in this month, as some sort of joke from Mother Nature. Think positive for Spring.

With all the cold weather, snow & flooding we have had here in Central Arkansas, I look forward to getting outside & working in the yard. I am one of those people who gets "cabin fever" from staying indoors over too long a time. [Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy a good "goof off day" as well as anyone. I just don't like to be forced to remain inactive & indoors.]

One of the harbingers of Spring locally, is the annual Arkansas Flower & Garden Show, held at the end of each February in downtown Little Rock. This past weekend was this years three day event.

The show seems to get bigger each year, with more vendors & their displays, along with demonstrations, sales tables & guest speakers. This year did not disappoint. Some real time & effort went into setting up displays & natural garden settings.


I spent about two hours Saturday morning walking around the shows main floor, looking at everything & "visiting" with several vendors to discuss their offerings. In this case: decking for my house, options on some garden beds & replacing the fencing along the front of my property. A lot of the conversations were directed at an important issue -- $$.

One of the people I see & speak with each year is a fellow who calls himself "Mr. Bamboo". He has a company called Arkansas Bamboo Connection. He sells & installs bamboo in gardens & he is a big proponent of the many uses of bamboo, i.e. landscaping, reclaiming farrow land, use of the bamboo wood for building & flooring, clothing,etc. [I have a set of sheets on my bed made from bamboo.] He's very "green thinking" & I enjoy talking with him.


The Arkansas Bamboo Connection display had some medium size bamboo for sale, some of which already were marked "sold". "Mr. Bamboo" was also scheduled as one of the show speakers for Saturday afternoon.

Several other sales displays were also decorated with bamboo, which is -- to me -- an interesting twist, especially since the local gardening "expert" -- who has a weekly column in the newspaper -- is very much "anti-bamboo", due to the fact the plant can be quite invasive in a garden. The use of bamboo in the show is an indication to me that people are just seeing some of the many other aspects & uses of bamboo. The Botanica Gardens display used cut bamboo poles as part of their backdrop, as well as selling some cut poles.


Each year I attend the show, I usually buy something. One year it was a flag pole. Another year a telescoping ladder. Usually at least some day lillie tubers for the flower bed. This year I bought ratching hand-held pruners.

After two hours of all things gardening, along with it being -- for a change -- a pleasant day outside, I was geared up to get some clean-up done on my property. I also wanted to use my new "toy" -- the pruners.

Shortly after arriving home, I was outside working in the yard. It was a fine day to do so.


I was pleased with my purchase & they worked well with their intended purpose -- clipping & trimming. As this month is the usual time of the year for trimming & shaping my Crape Mertle Trees, I am already finding the new pruners are going to make that job a lot easier.