Latest news with #bamboo
The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Bamboo was taking over my garden & had me fearing for my house – until a cheap buy from The Range got rid of it for good
A FED-UP gardener has revealed how she finally managed to wipe out a monster bamboo infestation using a budget buy from The Range. Posting in the Gardening on a Budget Official Facebook group, one frustrated woman explained how her partner's garden had been completely overrun by bamboo. 2 She described it as 'solid' ground and saying 'there's so much of it' they didn't know where to start. But thankfully, green-fingered Brits rallied around to offer tried-and-tested advice and one product kept cropping up as the miracle fix. Gardeners recommended the Roundup Tree Stump and Root Killer, which retails at £18.99 from The Range. The powerful weedkiller is specially designed to target tough, woody plants and it seems bamboo doesn't stand a chance. One user swore by the stuff, commenting: 'I used this on mine. It took a few months, but it's gone and never came back.' Another backed it up, adding: 'It's brilliant stuff. The Roundup kills it – best time is when it stops growing in October or November.' The product's official description says it's a 'non-selective, translocated weedkiller ' that travels throughout the plant and root system. It tackles everything from tree stumps to nettles, ivy and invasive bamboo. It's absorbed by leaves or freshly cut surfaces and works both above and below ground. Once it hits the soil, microbes break it down, meaning it's safe to replant in treated areas. 6 Reasons Bamboo May Not Be Ideal for Your British Garden And for gardeners dealing with full-blown bamboo battles, this stuff might just be the saviour. One poor user shared: 'I get invaded by my neighbour's bamboo, it's a menace. "My garden is tiered because of sloping, and the roots even disturbed and knocked off the boards on the bottom tier.' She revealed the stubborn plant caused 'numerous shoots coming up on my lawn', adding: 'It took weeks. I still get the odd shoot popping up and as soon as I see it, I'm on it.' Others chimed in with more DIY hack s, including repeatedly pouring boiling water over shoots to kill them off, though most agreed that Roundup offered a long-term fix with minimal fuss. With its ability to take down even notorious intruders like Japanese knotweed, the weedkiller has gained a bit of a cult following among gardeners desperate to reclaim their lawns. So if bamboo is creeping into your space and boiling water just won't cut it, this £18.99 could be the price of peace and quiet in your garden. As one user put it: 'It's the only thing that worked and trust me, I tried everything.' How to prevent bamboo from taking over your garden For those that are still tempted to add bamboo to their garden, there is a way that you can make it more manageable and reduce the risk of it taking over your flowerbeds. Rather than simply planting a smaller patch, green-fingered influencer Dave The Plant Man suggests putting down a plastic root barrier to prevent it from spreading. In a recent Instagram reel, he advised his followers: 'Basically, you dig a trench [and] you put this [the bamboo barrier], leave it sticking out a little bit.' According to the gardening whizz, this will stop any shoots and rhizomes from spreading through the soil. If you already have a bamboo plant in your garden, you can also use the same method by placing the plastic barrier around your existing patch. How to get rid of invasive bamboo IF you have a bamboo that has got out of hand, you may wish to eradicate it completely. RHS recommends two methods of removal: Cultural control Non-chemical methods involve digging out clumps of bamboo and restricting the size. This can be difficult with very large plants, or on heavy soil. Use a sharp spade to dig up the entire clump or to remove sections from the edge of the clump that have grown beyond the limits. Sever rhizomes as you go, lifting and removing them with a fork or trowel. Weedkiller control When invasive plants are a threat to biodiversity and gardeners struggle to control them with cultural methods, targeted use of regulated weedkillers may be an option. Garden centres and large retailers selling weedkillers have trained staff who can advise on suitable products for your needs.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: Hong Kong's bamboo scaffolding and a Bali bone healer
As I read our cover feature this week, I started thinking about the overlap between a bamboo scaffolding master's craft and my own as the editor of a magazine. Hear me out for a second. They're both tactile endeavours, requiring craftsmanship and an attention to the little things. Each of us takes building blocks – words and images or poles and ties – to construct something greater than the sum of its parts. And most of all, both have an unmistakable human touch. 'There's always a human hand behind it,' says a bamboo scaffolding master in Christopher DeWolf's piece. It's a line that's stuck with me. Advertisement DeWolf's story takes us first to Venice, where a crew from Hong Kong has wrapped the courtyard of a historic villa in bamboo for this year's Biennale of Architecture, and back here to our own city, where officials have proposed replacing bamboo with steel even while other countries are just realising the natural material's huge potential. Elsewhere in our features, Winnie Chung chats with Singaporean novelist Jemimah Wei, whose debut The Original Daughter is already making waves internationally. The up-and-coming author shows a side of Singapore apart from the glitz and glam the city state is known for, focusing on the 'claustrophobic intimacy of public-housing life'. Wei toiled over the novel for more than 10 years, estimating that she wrote well over a million words. Quite the endeavour indeed. Back in Venice, Zhaoyin Feng meets the Chinese migrants now staffing many of the city's coffee bars. It's a story that dives into the question of authenticity and cultural identity, played out through espresso pulls and Aperol spritzes. My favourite bit? Learning that one young barista honed her coffee-making skills via YouTube and Douyin, a thoroughly modern-day twist. Then we leave the lagoon for the Swiss Alps. In Seewis im Prättigau, Victoria Burrows joins villagers guiding flower-crowned cows down from the high pastures at summer's end. There are bells and brass bands and half the town lining the streets. I'm particularly intrigued by the ancillary events. I might not qualify for the international beard competition but I'd happily judge alpine cheeses. Advertisement And finally, in Bali, Ian Lloyd Neubauer meets Mangku Sudarsana, a traditional healer known for bone setting. One firm knee, a twist and years of pain disappear in seconds. Feeling like a man reborn, Neubauer uses his new-found energy to explore the island's less-trodden paths, finding there's still plenty to discover beyond traffic-choked Seminyak.
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
How bamboo scaffolding helped build Hong Kong and still holds up its spirit
In the concrete and steel jungle of Hong Kong, bamboo remains a widely used building material. The organic material is shaped into rapidly constructed scaffolding that covers new developments or supports workers doing building renovations. Bamboo scaffolding even forms entire venues for pop-up Cantonese opera theatres and cultural events. Hong Kong is one of the last bastions of bamboo scaffolding in the world. The city's enduring reliance on it is the result of a unique blend of heritage and practicality – bamboo is cheap, strong and flexible. But while many cherish it, in March 2025, the city's government started a partial phasing out of bamboo in favour of metal scaffolding, citing safety concerns. Bamboo scaffolders known as 'spiders' continue to work for now, but their craft could be slowly fading away. Hong Kong Authentic takes a look at the business and art of bamboo scaffolding.
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
How bamboo scaffolding helped build Hong Kong and still holds up, despite uncertain future
In the concrete and steel jungle of Hong Kong, bamboo remains a widely used building material. Advertisement The organic material is shaped into rapidly constructed scaffolding that covers new developments or supports workers doing building renovations. Bamboo scaffolding even forms entire venues for pop-up Cantonese opera theatres and cultural events. Hong Kong is one of the last bastions of bamboo scaffolding in the world. The city's enduring reliance on it is the result of a unique blend of heritage and practicality – bamboo is cheap, strong and flexible. But while many cherish it, in March 2025, the city's government started a partial phasing out of bamboo in favour of metal scaffolding, citing safety concerns. Bamboo scaffolders known as 'spiders' continue to work for now, but their craft could be slowly fading away.
CBC
12-07-2025
- General
- CBC
Ever wanted to build your own bike out of bamboo? These Montrealers learned how
A group of bike enthusiasts got the chance to make bamboo bicycles with their own hands during a DIY workshop offered by a travelling designer from Mexico City.
