Another thing we put into the yard last week was something that looks a bit like bamboo, but isn’t. It’s called giant reed, or arundo donax. It looks like bamboo because of the giant reeds, and looks a bit like corn because of the leaves. We’re wanting to screen our yard from the neighbors’ upper deck, not block it out completely, but just soften the direct view. Bamboo is supposed to be invasive, so we thought we’d give giant reed a try. Miraculously, it’s supposed to grow 10-15 feet in a single season.
Let me just mention that it’s hard to look at a clump of 3-foot plants in a garden center and imagine what they will look like when they’re 15 feet tall. I don’t know whether we’re going to like it, so I like to tell myself we can always pull it out again.
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