I can't send any pictures but I'd like to share my 'image' with you all. When I planted the first bamboos in the garden, I planted them for several reasons. I wanted fast growth to cover ground that would give all-year colour and I wanted to grow something 'different'.

But over the last few years two very positive things have happened with the bamboos which I never considered at planting time. First, they block out the light on the bamboo floor preventing any weeds from growing, their accumulated mulch also helps too. Sure, weeds spring up near the edges, but glance behind them further inside and they rapidly disappear.

Second, as dusk draws in and I wander past the bamboo - either to the greenhouses to check their doors or take an alternative route to put the kitchen clippings on the compost, its amazing to hear the extent of the wings fluttering inside the bamboo forest! Among them there are blue and great tits, chaffinches and green finches, sparrows too! There are dozens and dozens of them fluttering away, settling down for the night. Yet they're very difficult to spot, even if I lie down underneath and stare upwards for a minute or two before the cold seeps in. But the sounds of the bamboo tell me just how full of birds it must be. They must feel very safe too as the barn owls can not sweep through the dense jungle and prowling cats can not climb the stems.