In Asia bamboo has always been an integral part of daily life. A British colonel travelling around China during the 19th century summarized it in these words: “Bamboo isn’t only food for a Chinaman, it is also the roof over his house, the mattress he sleeps on, the cup he drinks from, and the chopsticks he eats with. He waters his fields using bamboo pipes, works his harvest using a bamboo rake, cleans the crop with a bamboo sieve and carries it home in a bamboo basket. The mast of his junk is made of bamboo, as well as the draw shafts of his cart. He gets whipped with a bamboo rod, tortured with bamboo splinters and finally strangled with a bamboo rope.”

Leaving aside the junk, whip, cart and torture, the remaining description could also apply to our world in the present day – because bamboo is booming. From woven trays, furniture and garden appliances to parquet flooring, there are countless bamboo articles that can be purchased. Let alone bamboo as the evergreen supergrass in your garden! In some ways, bamboo also embodies a way of life: flexible yet still strong. Even if it is pounded to the ground by rain or snow, it will spring back to its upright position as if nothing had happened. For many people bamboo symbolizes the art of survival – bamboo grass was the first plant to shoot up out of the ground again after the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima.

Bamboo first came to Europe around 200 years ago, yet it wasn’t until the last 30 years that it developed into the hugely popular garden plant it is today. The Fargesia murielae, which grows very tall, is the number-one garden bamboo in Germany – and when it began to flower five years ago news spread like wildfire through the media jungle. And why? Because when bamboo flowers, it means it is about to die. Bamboo is seldom in blossom – some kinds only bloom once every 100 years – but when it does a whole crop will vanish within a year.

Interested bamboo fans can get further information from the European Bamboo Society: www.bamboosociety.org