Bamboo in Queens

Douglastonis an area in north-east Queens (near the Long Island border) thatfilmmakers often use when they're looking to shoot in an upper-middleclass suburban neighborhood. The houses are all relatively large, with(gasp!) actual front lawns AND backyards, and lots of breathing roombetween properties.

I was scouting Douglaston near Udalls Cove when I passed a house with a beautiful, thickly-set bamboo garden on the front lawn:

Note howhigh the stalks reach in the above picture. As far as I can remember,I've never seen this much bamboo outside of a park in New York.

Best of all:the owner set a path through the side of the bamboo. The overhangingfoliage completely blocks out the sunlight as you get deeper, giving itthe feel of a secret passageway.

For anyoneinspired to do the same, bamboo is the fastest growing plant on Earth(growing up to 48 inches in a single 24 hour period!) and reaches fullheight in just 3-4 months! And apparently, it can grow just fine inQueens [Update: based on comments on Scouting NY, this is actually a horribleidea, as it will spread without control and ruin everyone's land...sodon't do it!].

I will add that in repeating it frequently for this post, the word "bamboo" has suddenly lost all meaning.

-SCOUT

More articles: www.scoutingny.com