Watch us on DIY Network's Yard Crashers on April 2

New update on Yard Crashers: The show, Season 7 premier, I participated in will air Monday, April 2nd on the DIY Network. Please check local listings for time. I plan on sharing photos of the project after the episode airs on this blog and also my Facebook page. Also will have the video linked as well when it posts on the DIY Network website. Looking forward to seeing it!

Sean

Mad Man Bamboo

(916) 300-6335

www.madmanbamboo.com

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Bloom Tour at Rice River Ranch

Last Sunday, my family and I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 Rice River Ranch Bloom Tour and BBQ. This is a family owned farm, managed by Tom and Jeanette Rice. Tom and Jeanette grow a wide variety of stone fruit (nectarines, peaches, prunes and many more) on their 16 acre farm in Arboga, California (just south of Marysville, CA, near the Feather River). The farm started around 2001 when Tom left his 'cubicle job' for a life in farming with Jeanette.  Jeanette has been around farming for most of her life with her family being in farming in the area since 1955.

The Rice's exhibit the best that California farming is all about. They are a regular at Placer County Farmers Markets and we had the pleasure of being a fellow vendor with them in the 2011 Farmers' Market in Rocklin (which we hope to repeat in 2012).

We had a great time touring the farm and having a great lunch, and it was especially gratifying to see our youngest daughter make the farm to food connection. In fact, she made the statement that she wanted to return in the Summer to help Tom and Jeanette pick peaches off the trees. Guess it really made a good impression.

So, here are some photos of what we saw on the farm tour:

Nectarine blooms

Jeanette showing us the small fruit in the bloom.

The view of the farm from the river levee (behind me was the Feather River).  In the foreground is are the yellow flowers of the Wild Mustard plant.

Blooms on a Plum tree.

Tom and Jeanette. They live and breathe farming, they love the land, love their trees and it shows in the wonderful fruit they sell at Farmers' Markets in Placer County and beyond.  

Its through the hard work of people like Tom and Jeanette that we get wonderful, fresh California produce.  Many take this for granted, many more have no connection to farming and where their food actually comes from (other than the supermarket), but today's tour reaffirmed my appreciation for our local farmers and why California is still a special place to live.

Sean

Mad Man Bamboo Nursery - Rocklin, CA

www.madmanbamboo.com

(916) 300-6335

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Amazing bamboo photography by Nate Abbott

In the bamboo community, which spans the world, it's a unique group of people - some are into the scientific aspects of bamboo, some love to work with bamboo to make furniture, art or structures, others love to farm bamboo as a food and timber source. There are many that love bamboo for its sheer beauty and uniqueness in the plant world.

In this post, I want to show the fine photography of Nate Abbott, a fellow bamboo aficionado and photographer from Utah.

Nate Abbott

 
As Nate said in a interview by e-mail, "Living in the high desert of Utah presents it's share of obstacles to creating a lush oasis."  Many people would never imagine bamboo growing in a arid, cold climate such as Utah.  Abbott added that, "My favorite bamboos are from the Fargesia genus, the reason being their clumping habit, hardiness, and refined beauty."

Nate's first bamboo plant was Sasaella masamuneana 'Albostriata', a beautiful, cold hardy running bamboo.

Applying a lifetime of plant knowledge from books, learning from a diehard gardening grandmother, and obtaining a B.S. in Horticulture from Utah State University. Nate Abbott began to transform his yard into a tropical paradise reminiscent of Thailand where he served an LDS mission for 2 years.

Coupled with his love of gardening and bamboo, Nate has had a passion for capturing nature's beauty for over 20 years. The passion began in high school begging to borrow his fathers old Minolta SRT 101 camera and has never stopped.

Nate has taken some very beautiful, artistic photos of bamboo that he has given his permission for me to show to you, reader of the Bamboo Geek blog:

Nate's beautiful photography can be found here - Nate's Photos and More of Nate's Photos.  Nate also has his photography available in high quality prints and posters - more information.  Note that I am not receiving any compensation from Nate for this post.  I just love his work and hopefully you do too.  He captures the beauty and peace that comes from bamboo perfectly through his photography.

Cheers!

Sean
Mad Man Bamboo - Rocklin, CA
(916) 300-6335
www.madmanbamboo.com
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Recent warmth brings out the best in a beautiful bamboo...

What a treat it was to get an e-mail with a photo attached from Aaron, a customer who obtained a Himalayacalamus hookerianus 'Teague's Blue Bamboo' from me in November 2011.  I have blogged on this specific variety many times. One blog post was picked up on a popular garden blog, Dirt du Jour, and well, the rest was history. Needless to say it is one of the most sought after clumping bamboos for me.

Himalayacalamus hookerianus 'Teague's Blue Bamboo' has a history, propagated by horticulturist Bill Teague in Southern California (plants were often given to friends), this ornamental bamboo gets about 20 feet tall and not only has shades of blue in the culm, but also carries deep reds, purples, vibrant greens, and I'm expecting a new color... any day now.  It's one of those plants that makes you say - 'wow!'

In Sacramento, it needs to be in a spot that gets afternoon shade. Other than that, its a good performer and puts quite the show in the garden.

So without further adieu, here is what Aaron sent me....

So for comparison, to show of the variety of colors this bamboo plant offers, here is the photo that the good people at Dirt du Jour shared with the world last year..

Believe it or not... same plant.   Ladies and gentleman... 'Teague's Blue Bamboo', not much else to say, it speaks for itself.  Aaron's photos emphasized why this is my favorite bamboo.

Sean
Mad Man Bamboo - Rocklin, CA
www.madmanbamboo.com
(916) 300-6335
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Warm days are nice.... but is this February? My plants are confused!

It was pure heaven today... sunny 70's in a unusually mild winter day that acted like early April.  Of course, I took advantage of the nice weather and strolled around, finding hints of life on my bamboo plants.  Not sure if I should be shouting in the streets - "Spring is finally here!" or be afraid, very afraid that a usual hard winter freeze will undo all the early beauty.  Thinking positive, I just had to go with the former.

I really don't like winter - its the time of year that gardeners get the least visual joy and you see some of your favorite plants, either die off completely or just look like hell.  So - I just went with it.  Here are some of the sights I saw in the yard today...

On my Hibamnobambusa tranquillans 'Shiroshima', a new branchlet and leaves are emerging, brought on by the warm weather.

This is a new branchlet emerging from a Bambusa oldhamii 'Giant Clumping Bamboo'.  The new culms have the culm sheath (tan) that protect the nodes and the branchlet is so plump, it it cracking the culm sheath.

Hopefully, this weather will carry on to the true Spring, but of course some precipitation would be good to go along with that.  So, enjoy the warm sunny days while they last!

Cheers!

Sean
Mad Man Bamboo - Rocklin, CA
(916) 300-6335
www.madmanbamboo.com
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Attention plant fanatics! Don't miss us at the March 31, 2012 Plant Sale in Sacramento, California

OK, all you plant fanatics (like me) out there - I love plant sales and I wish there were more held in the Sacramento area, darn it!  But, I am super excited to announce that we have been invited to participate in the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club's Annual Plant Sale. This is a great event that we have participated in in the past (pictured above was us at that last sale) with multiple plant vendors including succulents, vegetable starts, trees, flowers, garden art and of course - bamboo!

You know its a good plant sale when you end up spending half your profits on more plants.

Don't miss it! It's free to get in and its worth stopping by.

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, March 31, 2012; 9 am to 4 pm.

Where: Shepard Arts and Garden Center at 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95816
(McKinley Park) [Map]

Who: Hosted for the public by the Sacramento Perennial Plant Club.

See you there!

Sean
Mad Man Bamboo
(916) 300-6335
www.madmanbamboo.com
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Another Bamboo 'How-To': How to tell when your bamboo plant needs to be watered...

After years of caring for bamboo plants, you get to know its particular behavior as it deals with extreme environmental conditions.  Bamboo offers a tell-tale sign when it needs a basic element - water.  In this Bamboo 'How-To', we show the sign of when watering is needed, what you need to to do deal with the situation immediately, and some extra care you can provide your water-starved bamboo plant.

Cheers!

Sean
Mad Man Bamboo - Rocklin, CA
(916) 300-6335
www.madmanbamboo.com
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