In June 2011 I visited the exceptional bamboo nursery called Pépiniéres de la Bambouseraie near Nimes in southern France to select plants for the Paris garden. The nursery includes a vast forest of various species of bamboo as well as a Japanese tea house located next to a river lined with Maple trees. I was looking for two varieties, Phyllostachys nigra with its characteristic black canes and the very erect Semiarundunaria fastuosa. Plants are dug up and containerised from field grown mother groups. The largest bamboo available for purchase were in the region of 12m height, the largest transportable by articulated lorry.
