Breezy bamboo; sorry Northerners

Those who have grown bamboo in a temperate climate are likely to wish they never did. Once a temperate bamboo gets going it's almost impossible to keep under control, shooting up in all sorts of inconvenient places and doing more damage to lawns than pesky moles.

But for us lucky folks living in a tropical climate, we grow clumping bamboos, which are sooo much easier to maintain.

This is Bambusa malingensis, a particularly thickly-clumping, vigorous species that I really must get round to thinning out. It's about 25' now and can get to around 35'. It's a graceful plant that will bend nearly horizontal in our frequent, strong winds.

It started off as a weedy thing about seven years ago, and now it blocks out the view of (and from) the bridge, which is what is was intended to do.

I got it from Daniel and Martha Holmes of Holmes Bamboo in the Redland. If you're in the market, check out their website.

Halloween fishermen at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

These guys look suspiciously like the fruit of the sausage tree (Kigelia africana). I hope the gators give them a pass...

Devloper makes quick buck with cruelty to trees

This really annoys me: Planting young trees right under utility lines. It's a cheap developer's trick to make a property look nicer. These live oaks will soon reach the overhead lines where they will cause power outages to homes further along and then FPL will hack them back. We all pay for that service.

Little Brown Jobs (and keep your mind out of the toilet, please)

The LBJs, small brown birds -- mostly warblers, are back. The fall migration has been under way for a while, but I've only just started paying attention. The LBJs flit from branch to branch too quickly to figure out the species, but I have seen American redstarts and a male prairie warbler. I may have seen a black-and-white warbler, too, but ...

It's a colorful time of year, birdwise, in the garden. Blue jays and cardinals come to the feeders and the bright yellow spot-breasted orioles are all over the place.