Leon and I were interested in planting trees, bushes and flowers to beautify the property and reduce erosion. We were able to get over 200 plants for free from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources DRNA, mostly consisting of different varieties of palms and we bought hundreds of small mani plants for ground cover. Over time we continued to add different types of bushes, shrubs and flowers with some successes and some failures. Some of our favorite plantings are the various species of bamboo we planted on the east side of the property. We heard there is a man in town that goes by the name Bamboo Joe. He has 12 cuerdas (approx 12 acres) in Barrio Cruces covered in bamboo and various hard woods that he planted himself. Bamboo Joe was offering a tour of his property for anyone interested in seeing what he was doing. It turns out he built his house out of bamboo as well as furniture, lamps, toys, and tree houses too! Joe has created his own bamboo jungle unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
We were so impressed with the beauty of the bamboo garden that decided to hire Joe to plant bamboo on our property, Dos Ceibas. We already had one large patch of bamboo on the property that's been there for many years and it’s a special spot on the property for us. In fact we named one of the lots “Bamboo” because of it. The tranquility and shade it provides is a unique aspect of the bamboo patch. We love the noise it makes when the wind rusltles the leaves and makes the stalks rub against one another. The fallen leaves also provides a unique ground cover. We planted various types of bamboo as a screen on the north side of the property which has the closest proximity to a neighbor. We're looking to create a natural barrier on the border of the cano.
Here are a few species of bamboo we planted:
Bambusa Textilis, also called weavers bamboo. It's wind tolerant, compact, ideal for hedges and can grow up to 40 feet in height.
Bambusa Vulgaris, also called common bamboo has feathery yellow and green leaves. Its known to be great for erosion control and can grow up to 40 feet in height.
Dendrocalamus Asper, also known as giant bamboo can grow up to 4o feet in height. It has spines and sharp edges and grows really fast with large bright green leaves.
Bambusa Tuldoides is also known as buddhas belly because of the swollen sections called internodes. Buddhas Belly can grow up to 70 feet tall with zig zagging lowers culms! It's one of the largest bamboo species around. Obviously these are great for foliage and a privacy screen The height can also be stunted when put into pots and used for ornamental decorations.
After walking every inch of the site with machetes, we evaluated the possible options. The road would provide access to each of the lots, but would also be the service spine for utilities (water, electricity, cable and phone service) AND have to be lit by streetlights to comply with municipal codes. We constructed a 3d model of the site topography to test the extents of the light pollution from the anticipated streetlights. Below are the images from preliminary designs A and J.
In addition to having exceptional insulating properties, the surface is wonderful for barefoot traction. The porous finish is not slippery and is the perfect material to use around the saltwater pool. It should, however, be grouted and sealed to maintain a pristine surface - the tiny holes will otherwise trap water and cause mildew.
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