The conventional wisdom about bamboo is that once you’ve planted it, you’ll soon be chasing it with a machete to kill it off. Well there is some truth in this, for there exist two distinct categories of bamboo, and it makes a big difference which one is used for landscaping.
See, running bamboos do exactly that – they run. Producing extremely tough underground stems called rhizomes, as bamboo grows these rhizomes penetrate farther from the mother plant searching for water and nutrients, sending up additional canes as it goes. A running rhizome can spread indefinitely — only a heavy physical barrier or a family of voracious pandas can slow their growth.
The Farm Dubai: D3000 f/11; Exposure 1/80sec; ISO-100
But the biology of plantlife is not what I wish to write about here. Its more the calming effects of a well-thought out and clutter-free landscape that has piqued my interest. Balance and harmony are achieved when simple, elegant materials are used with the aim of creating peaceful space.
The clean lines established by judiciously placed bamboos in front of this Dubai restaurant, The Farm, at Al Barari, creates a screen on which eyes naturally rest. Understatement can be incredibly inviting: an ideal characteristic for a nosherie!
The Farm Dubai: D3000 f/3.5; Exposure 1/500sec; ISO-100
Simplicity, focus and moderation appeals to contemporary trends where excess and overstatement are no longer fashionable or appealing. Like the bamboo’s long-limbed rhizomes, may such designs be adopted further and further into Dubai’s architecture.
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