The
Southeast Chapter of the American Bamboo Society
meets at Lewis Bamboo
It
was one of the largest turn outs we have had for the
Southeast Chapter. We
had free bamboo plants for
each new member who joined. There were door prizes given
away plus food and drinks for everyone! We
had 41 folks attend
with visitors and
members from Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Michigan,
Mississippi, Nebraska and of
course
Alabama. Several visting members have large commerical bamboo nurseries. The president and vice-president of the
chapter were
present along with two directors and the
founder of the Southeast
Chapter. We had four master gardeners attend so all questions about
bamboo and gardening were answered. Above is some of
the door prizes given away after lunch
was served. Some bamboo staffs,
a bowl, vase and tray with coasters plus
place mats all made of bamboo.
Each
visitor received free bamboo socks. Over
fifty
pair of bamboo socks were given away. These socks
are 100% bamboo fiber made through a high-tech process. The canes are 3 to 4 year old
canes and are of excellent quality. Bamboo fiber is a
natural, eco-friendly fiber without any
chemical additive. the entire
distilling process adheres strictly to 'green processing'
standards.
If you would like to purchase any of these socks or
other clothing items made from bamboo just go to
their web site.
Rich Delano was nice enough to offer these to us for our meeting so
please contact him @ http://www.bambooclothes.com
Top left,
the group is in an area with P. v. Robert Young, Giant
Gray Henon, P. bissetii
and
are looking at a planting of P.a. Harbin. In the photo to the
right, we are entering the
northeast
section
of groves were over 30 species are planted.
Above
is one of our Moso groves which has many 4 and 5 inch
diameter canes towering
over 60 feet
overhead. In the photo to the right, Adam Turtle measures
some 'sweetshoot'
dulcis at three
inches.
Several
members wonder through one of our Phyllostachys aureosulcata
'spectabilis' groves.
To the right,
John from Michigan was amazed at the bamboo sizes here in
the south. He
purchased five
new species to add to his collection of cold hardy
bamboos growing way up north.
Many
photos were made as the group moved from one grove to another.
In
the center of the above photos is Roger Jr. He graduated from the
University of Alabama
in 1999
with a BS in Business Management. He is a state licensed landscaper and
now owns
and operates Lewis Bamboo, Inc.
In the above
left photo on the right is Robby Russell, president of the
SEC. He won one of
the
door prizes, a bamboo vase. In the photo to
the right is Steve Deneham from
Florida,
speaking with
Dr. Mike Hotchkiss from Georgia. Roger Jr. is in
the corner grabbing
a quick bit to
eat before going back to giving tours.
Left
to right in both photos are some of our best friends and bamboo
collectors.
Pete, Pat, Joe
and
Sandra.
Nick and Bert
We
hope everyone enjoyed the meeting and we hope to see everyone again
soon. A special 'THANKS' to all our friends who pitched in to help for
this event!
Roger
Sr. & Gayle Lewis
Roger Jr. &
Rachel Lewis