Pictured (from left) are Mary Ann Lindsay, Charlotte Zinner and Delores Majors.

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Robertsdale Garden Club enjoyed a field trip to the Boo for You Bamboo Gardens in Pensacola, Fla., Thursday, Nov. 10.

There were over 200 varieties of bamboo, bamboo artifacts and many other tropical plants. Members were treated to a special tour by owner Danny Doege who created the enduring bamboo garden in memory of his wife, Peggy.

Doege tells the local folks that come in, that “if you are not using bamboo in your yard or garden yet you are doing yourself a grave disservice. Those that have availed themselves of this unique niche plant have yet to repent and return any of it.”

Bamboo is essentially a giant grass and as with your lawn, can be cut without killing the plant unlike other hardwoods such as teak and mahogany, where the whole tree dies when cut.

Bamboo is an environmentally friendly plant that can be harvested and just keeps on growing, with no forest destroyed in the process. It is the resource of the past, present and most definitely the future, and its popularity will only increase in time as more and more people realize its potential.

Following the tour members purchased plants for their own gardens. Prior to the field trip members enjoyed lunch at Trigger’s Seafood Restaurant in Pensacola.