Warmer weather brings with it revived gardens and more time spent outdoors enjoying private retreats. Wind chimes add an element of beauty to gardens and also harness the power of Feng Shui. Practicers of Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese method of object placement that focuses on the flow of “chi” or energy, use wind chimes for protection and to direct the flow of chi.
Create your own soothing bamboo wind chimes to keep the positive chi flowing throughout your home and gardens.
Here’s what you need to make your bamboo wind chime:
Lengths of bamboo
Glass beads in assorted weights
Drill
Small saw
String or fishing line
Cup hook
Scissors
To make your bamboo wind chime:
Get several stalks of bamboo either at a local nursery or from your own yard. Make sure to get several diameters and lengths. Make sure to keep some extra on hand.
Cut the stalks into 10 pieces of a suitably long length, with each piece somewhat longer than your longer piece is to be.
Drill 2 holes in the end of one piece about a ½ inch from the end of the piece. String fishing line, jute or whatever material you decide to use through the hole and hold the piece high.
Strike the hanging piece with another piece of bamboo and listen to the sound. If the sound is pleasing, go on to the next piece. If not, use a small hand saw to shorten the piece until it makes a suitable sound when struck.
Continue with the other pieces following steps 3 and 4. Make each piece of bamboo a little shorter than the one before, testing the sound of each one.
Lay all the pieces side by side, with each piece touching its neighbor, and measure the final piece of bamboo to be as long as this grouping is wide. This piece will serve as the hanger. Drill five holes, evenly spaced, through the hanger.
String two pieces together through the first hole in the hanger, taking care that they hang straight down and are separated by the diameter of the hanger. Try to balance long pieces with short ones so the hanger will be balanced. Make adjustments as necessary.
Add glass beads to the strings as necessary to finish balancing the wind chime.
Screw a cup hook into the center of the hanger and hang your new wind chime where it can catch the wind and create beautiful music and soothing sounds.
For more fun craft projects to try, visit our Bamboo Crafts section.
There are as many types of bamboo plants to choose from for your garden as there are uses for the plant itself. Over 1000 species of bamboo in 90 genera have been described and named and there may well be varieties waiting to be discovered. Bamboo plants grow at various heights in various ways with various leaf lengths and shapes. Variety should not come as a surprise considering how many areas of the planet in which they’ve evolved. Bamboo spans the globe from the United States to Asia to Australia and can now be a beautiful addition to your own home.
The bamboo plant not only adds beauty but it also helps the environment.
There are several factors to consider when choosing a bamboo plant:
Purpose – The uses of the bamboo plant are endless. It can be a striking stand-alone, a low variegated border, a groundcover or an accent plant. It holds prominent placement in creating stunning Japanese gardens. By far it’s most popular use is as a fast-growing privacy screen. Since bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet, a screen or hedge can be created more quickly and inexpensively than hardwood trees or fencing.
Temperature – It is best to select plants that will tolerate temperatures well below the lowest ones you’ve experienced in the last few years.
Sunlight – Choose a species based on the number of hours of direct sunlight they will receive and what part of the day they will be in the sun. A.M. sun is cooler and P.M. sun may be harsher.
Height and diameter - Affected by all aspects of the climate, most plants have a known reference point based on their climate of origin.
Clumping vs. Running Bamboo – There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Clumpers spread wide more slowly but grow tall more quickly and they don’t require a root barrier for containment. Runners spread wide more quickly to form screens and are less expensive but they sometimes require a root barrier.
Aesthetic – There are canes with colors, stripes, large/small diameters, exposed or covered with foliage; leaves can be striped and variegated, long and thin or large and wide or very small. Growth may be vertical and narrow, bushy and wide, weeping or arching. Selection is all a matter of personal taste and landscaping needs.
Even if you don’t have the greenest of thumbs, the bamboo plant is a hardy enough plant to survive with minimal upkeep. While the bamboo plant requires liberal watering in the first six months, once established they require only intermittent deep watering. Organic composts are helpful to the growing bamboo plant and depending on type and purpose of the plant, pruning can be frequent or occasional.
Unfortunately, bamboo plants have gained a bad reputation and can strike fear in the heart of many a homeowner association. Bamboo plants spread via rhizomes. Running bamboos have long rhizomes that spread quickly while clumping bamboos have shorter rhizomes that don’t spread so rapidly. Running bamboo is easily controlled though. To keep bamboo from running amok, install a plastic barrier in a narrow three-foot-deep trench along the row of bamboo plants. Leaving an inch or two of the liner above ground will help prevent stray shoots from jumping the barrier.
The spread of bamboo can also be controlled by effective use of water. If the plants are watered only in the area in which the plants are wanted and nowhere else within 10 to 20 feet, the dry soil created will be a barrier to root growth. Also, a water-filled stream or ditch can stop growth since rhizomes and roots cannot be saturated for long periods of time. Make sure to wait and see if containment is actually needed. Many species require a 3 year growth period before they begin to spread. Rhizomes can be let go and you can remove new cane shoots by breaking them off if they emerge where they are not wanted – these are the tender shoots that can be used for any of the recipes in Green Earth News Bamboo Flavors section!
Bamboo plants also add an element of surprise to any garden. Called gregarious flowering, bamboo species are able to flower periodically all over the world at the same time. For example, the Phyllostachys bambusoides flowered during the 1970s, as it has done every 120 years through recorded bamboo history. No one knows what triggers the flowering and the flowers themselves are as diverse as the types of bamboo plants available.
As the popularity of the bamboo plant grows, so does the number of nurseries and experts to speak with. Visit this directory to find a nursery near you to learn more about the right type of plant for you and how to best plant and care for your beautiful bamboo garden.
As times become more hectic and money to travel is less available, people are choosing to turn their homes into their own sanctuaries. Many gardens are being designed not only for beauty but also to provide an oasis for the mind and spirit. In particular, Japanese Garden designs evoke a strong feeling of tranquility and peace of mind. Japanese [...]
In today’s modern world, the practice of writing by hand has given way to texting and typing. However, a practice still exists that celebrates the art of handwriting for its ability to communicate the spiritual world of the artist. Meaning beautiful writing, the practice of calligraphy is an art form that conveys the emotions, integrity, [...]
Mad Hatter: Would you like a little more tea?
Alice: Well, I haven’t had any yet, so I can’t very well take more.
March Hare: Ah, you mean you can’t very well take less.
Mad Hatter: Yes. You can always take more than nothing.
Perhaps the Mad Hatter wasn’t so mad after all.
The benefits of drinking tea are becoming [...]
There is a growing demand among consumers for earth-friendly products. Ranging from organic foods to recycled materials to use of sustainable materials, people are trying more than ever to green their lives and their living spaces. Natural decorating is a growing trend among interior designers with a focus on using products that will leave a [...]
A vegetarian meal doesn’t have to be a boring meal!
Try this tasty and easy to prepare recipe using bamboo shoots and classic Indian flavors.
This is a great dish to serve on its own or as a side dish to complement your menu.
Ingredients:
500 grams tender Bamboo Shoots
3/4 c. Split Chick Peas (Dal) OR 1 c. fresh [...]
Is it possible to protect the environment and develop buildings at the same time?
Many modern-day architects believe so and have embraced the movement of sustainable architecture. Focused on environmentally-conscious design techniques, the movement seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development [...]
Knitting evokes the image of little old ladies sitting around their nursing home in rocking chairs stitching together scarves and blankets and sweaters for all their grandkiddies. But knitting is not for just for grandmas anymore! After suffering a downturn in popularity in the 80s when efficiency and modernity were all the rage, knitting is [...]
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude devastated the island nation of Haiti. The powerful quake collapsed over 250,000 residences, leaving roughly 1 million people homeless. The world itself shook with the impact of the relief effort. International aid agencies and private citizens responded with an outpouring of donations. The focus of the relief effort [...]
The word tourist often evokes a negative image – the Hawaiian shirt, Clark Griswold and his inept world travels, the bulging camera around the neck and map in hand. But many modern tourists defy that stereotype as they seek out more authentic travel experiences, preferring to go off the beaten path and interact with the [...]
The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie. ~Agnes de Mille
For centuries, dance has played an important role in cultures around the world. Dance is used to celebrate, to worship and to mourn. Dance provides the opportunity to pass on traditions and stories in many cultures [...]
For centuries, rainsticks have been used by native tribes for everything from ceremonial worship tool to musical instrument. Most commonly, they are used to thank and appease the “rain spirits” to ensure the continuation of life-giving rain. While some debate the origin of the rainstick (early examples have been discovered in South America and Southern [...]
From Victorian times where men would retreat to their studies with smoking jackets to the bulky dressing gowns of the 1940s that women could wear around their homes, the history of loungewear has existed predominantly behind closed doors. Only in the 1970s did it become acceptable to wear loungewear outside the house, but people were [...]
In Asian countries, bamboo is used for a multitude of things. It is shelter and flooring, cookware and food, jewelry and clothing. With its abundant presence and many uses, it’s no surprise that bamboo figures prominently in the creation myths of their culture.
According to Philippine creation myths, the first man and woman emerged from a [...]
February is a month for hearts, whether it’s a romantic Valentines dinner or participation in the American Heart Association’s American Heart Month. According to the AHA, there are over 80 million people in the United States living with heart disease. And whether you’re living with it or working hard to avoid it, diet plays a huge [...]
Referred to as “the Black Diamond” in Japan and Southeast Asia, bamboo charcoal fibre use is an emerging trend in the fashion industry as manufacturers look to combine fashion with function.
Green Earth News previously wrote about the numerous benefits of bamboo charcoal so it should come as no surprise that those benefits extend to the [...]
Around the world, people have used music to express their faith and joy to a higher power.
In the Philippines, one such musical monument to God still exists and it’s beautiful music is created by bamboo. In 1795, Padre Diego Cera was assigned to the town of Las Pinas in the Philippines. Cera, with his great [...]
Warmer weather brings with it revived gardens and more time spent outdoors enjoying private retreats. Wind chimes add an element of beauty to gardens and also harness the power of Feng Shui. Practicers of Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese method of object placement that focuses on the flow of “chi” or energy, use wind chimes for protection and to direct the flow of chi.
ch piece somewhat longer than your longer piece is to be.
There are as many types of bamboo plants to choose from for your garden as there are uses for the plant itself. Over 1000 species of bamboo in 90 genera have been described and named and there may well be varieties waiting to be discovered. Bamboo plants grow at various heights in various ways with various leaf lengths and shapes. Variety should not come as a surprise considering how many areas of the planet in which they’ve evolved. Bamboo spans the globe from the United States to Asia to Australia and can now be a beautiful addition to your own home.
Even if you don’t have the greenest of thumbs, the bamboo plant is a hardy enough plant to survive with minimal upkeep. While the bamboo plant requires liberal watering in the first six months, once established they require only intermittent deep watering. Organic composts are helpful to the growing bamboo plant and depending on type and purpose of the plant, pruning can be frequent or occasional. 
Need some wonderfully comfortable and highly-absorbent clothes to use while working in your bamboo garden? Visit 