The Best Books to Learn about Bamboo
Whether you are just starting to learn about bamboo or already a seasoned professional, this selection of bamboo books will definitely be of interest for those that wish to grow or work with bamboo. From its historical uses to gardening tips and DIY building guides.
The Book of Bamboo
by David Farrelly
Bamboo has been used for millennia to make objects ranging from clothing and housing to more exotic luxuries like phonograph needles and children’s toys. This book (part history, part illustrated catalog, part cultivation guide) details the myriad uses of bamboo, along with an immense amount of information on how to grow, maintain, and harvest this extraordinary plant.
An encyclopedic roster of more than 1,200 bamboo species is a book in itself, as is author David Farrelly’s A-to-Z catalog of artifacts made from bamboo.
Bamboo
by Susanne Lucas
We may think of bamboo only as a snack for cuddly panda bears, but we use the plant as food, clothing, paper, fabric, and shelter. Drawing on a vast array of sources, this book builds a complete picture of bamboo in both history and our modern world. It explores the vital role bamboo plays in the survival of many animals and ecosystems, as well as its use for some of the earliest books ever written, as the framework for houses, and for musical instruments.
Lucas describes how bamboo’s special characteristics, such as its ability to grow quickly and thus be an easily replaced resource, offers potential solutions to modern ecological dilemmas. Filled with illustrations, Bamboo is an interesting new take on a plant that is both very old and very new.
Building with Bamboo: A Handbook
by Jules J.A. Jansen
This revised handbook brings together the practical experiences of engineers in the field and of research programs testing bamboo. The author shows how bamboo can be harvested, seasoned and jointed to form walls, doors and windows, roofs, floors, ceilings, roof trusses and bridges, and how to weave bamboo.
If you plan to build structures with bamboo, this book is a must. It is one of the best books for straightforward construction details.
Building with Bamboo
by Gernot Minke
Bamboo is increasingly discovered by architects of the Northern hemisphere. Impressed with its technical and aesthetic possibilities, European and North American architects have adopted bamboo for a variety of construction tasks, ranging from exclusive private residences to experimental pavilions, and from wide-span bridges to schools or museums.
The book provides a detailed manual for bamboo constructions and presents a broad selection of built examples, among them the spectacular bamboo pavilions of the 2010 Shanghai World Exposition, a parking garage in Leipzig, Germany, the Nomadic Museum in Mexico City and Richard Rogers Terminal 4 at Madrid Airport.
Bamboo Architecture & Design (59 Case Studies)
by Eduard Broto
This book uncovers contemporary bamboo architecture and design. Light, stiff, strong and incredibly fast growing, bamboo is a true super plant, and in construction it is becoming a super material. Used in many cultures for generations, it is enjoying a renewal of interest around the world due to its unique properties and the wide range of uses it can be put to.
In this book you will find some of the most beautiful, creative and cutting edge bamboo projects of recent years. Illustrated with full color photographs, plans, and the architect's explanations of their techniques and inspirations.
New Bamboo: Architecture and Design
by Marcelo Villegas
Guadua angustifolia is bamboo species native to Colombia which grows quickly and has outstanding environmental and aesthetic qualities. Guadua is a natural building material which has some very interesting properties. It is as strong as steel by weight and has incredible strength under tension.
This book offers insight into the fascinating world of Guadua's usage and its practical applications in architecture, furniture, and object design. It comes with great photographs of Villegas's most recent and exciting work.
Tropical Bamboo
by Marcelo Villegas
Recognizing bamboo as an ideal building material, both beautiful and functional, this guide fully explores the renewable resource known as "the poor man's timber." A highly valued tool for artists, designers and architects in recent years, bamboo is elegantly featured through gorgeous photographs that reveal bamboo's many innovative architectural uses and highlight its starring role in furniture, handcrafts, and sculpture by Colombian designers.
This book describes and shows the history of Colombian bamboo construction and their bamboo culture.
Bamboo Style
by Gale Beth Goldberg
Author Gale Goldberg shows us how to creatively bring bamboo to our homes. Teaching us how to live with it indoors and outdoors, even how to grow your own bamboo. Every room in your home can be decorated or accented with beautiful, sensual bamboo furniture, flooring, wall covering, ceiling material and accessories.
The resource directory includes connections to designers, manufacturers, artists, suppliers and bamboo organizations. For do-it-yourselfers, the bamboo projects in this book go from a simple ladle to a more complex pergola for the garden. It will definitely inspire you to create other designs of your own.
The Craft & Art of Bamboo
by Carol Stangler
Bamboo is one of the most popular materials around for gardens and home decor. This highly regarded introduction to the material offers rich history, fascinating background, and great projects. From weathering the plant and preventing insect damage to attaching, bending, flattening, finishing, and preserving the bamboo, this photo-filled introduction covers it all.
More than 30 illustrated how-to projects include a curved garden handrail, low trellis for climbing plants, porch swing, and even an outdoor shower stall.
Building Bamboo Fences
by Isao Yoshikawa
This book has all the information you will need to build your own bamboo fence. Additionally, the author has included a brief history of bamboo fences in Japan, a complete glossary of terms and many beautiful color photographs for inspiration. Fence diagrams range from simple see-through fences to more complex bamboo screening fences. The diagrams, techniques, and instructions for building different types of bamboo fences are clear, complete, easy to follow and even include tips on how to correct any problems you may have in construction.
Eleven prominent styles of bamboo fences are presented, giving a basic understanding of the art form, with detailed building instructions and design ideas for each.
Fundamentals of Building a Bamboo Fly Rod
by George E. Maurer | Bernard P. Elser
More and more anglers are abandoning high-tech graphite fly-rods in favor of those hand-crafted from bamboo. Bamboo is cheap, and the tools needed to build finished rods are simple and few. What is needed is patience, a steady hand, and a book that explains the process with clarity and detail. This is that book.
George Maurer has built some of the finest and most innovative bamboo rods seen in a generation. His student Bernard Elser explains this exacting craft in simple, precise steps. Each chapter begins with a list of tools and the time needed to complete the step described. 95 photographs and illustrations throughout illuminate key points of the process.
Bamboos
by Christine Recht
Using bamboos as design elements is stressed in this encyclopedia of species particularly suited for use in the garden or in containers. It also provides essential information for growing these exotic treelike grasses successfully.
'Bamboos' is one of the best guides not only for the excellent photographs but also for its charming text. It has sections on bamboo types (clumping and running) and basic morphology, practical chapters on how to plant, care for and limit the growth of bamboo, an encyclopedic section listing bamboos by species, qualities, climate, and requirements, and specialist chapters on such niceties as growing bamboo in containers and using them in bonsai.
American Bamboos
by Emmett J. Judziewicz, Lynn G. Clark, Ximena Londoño, Margaret J. Stern
Drawing on two decades of fieldwork in the United States and fifteen Latin American countries, the authors bring together current knowledge of the structure, ecology, human uses, conservation value, evolution, and diversity of the forty-one genera of American woody and herbaceous bamboos. They describe the importance of bamboos to South American landscapes and cultures, explaining how jungles of Guadua and thickets of Chusquea host communities of small animals and how human societies use bamboo for housing, furniture, basketry, food, soil conservation, and musical instruments.
Generously illustrated with color photographs and detailed line drawings, the book provides genus-by-genus descriptions of bamboos, as well as habitat data, range maps, lists of recognized species, and complete references.
Bamboo for Gardens
by Ted Jordan Meredith
Bamboo expert Ted Jordan Meredith provides a thorough and multifaceted treatment of these ancient grasses, covering origins and history, structure and form, cultivation and propagation, landscaping, taxonomy and identification. He offers insight into selecting the right plant for the right situation, and presents useful advice on the best methods for containing or eradicating potentially invasive forms.
The bulk of the book is an encyclopedia of bamboo genera, species, and cultivars. More than 300 bamboos from 40 different genera are described in detail, including excellent photos, information on size, lighting and temperature requirements, native range, physical characteristics, landscape and other uses.
Hardy Bamboos: Taming the Dragon
by Paul Whittaker
Growing bamboo was too long the exclusive pleasure of those with tropical and subtropical gardens. This hand-picked selection, however, allows gardeners in cooler climes to experience the wonder and variety of these magical plants.
In the first part of the book, anecdotes, experiences and case histories illuminate how bamboos perform in different places. A further section describes the bamboo's unique physical structure and growing habits. At the heart of the book are detailed plant descriptions, striking photographs and evocative illustrations to highlight each plant's characteristics. Using bamboos to best effect in the garden, propagation, aftercare and their resilience to pests and diseases complete the guidance for gardeners.
Ornamental Bamboos
by David Crompton
Bamboos are among the most fascinating of plants. Their unusual life cycle, tremendous power of growth, and extraordinary diversity of size and form give them a special significance in gardens. Gardens of all sizes can accommodate these elegant plants, which are cold-resistant and surprisingly easy to grow. Some bamboos make impressive specimens for the border, others form a fast-growing hedge or screen, and short forms provide a leafy groundcover.
David Crompton explains the characteristics that set bamboos apart, and everything that is needed to grow them successfully. The core of the book is a gardener's guide to nearly two hundred ornamental bamboos to grow and enjoy, supplemented by lists of bamboos for specific purposes.
Practical Bamboos: The 50 Best Plants for Screens, Containers and More
by Paul Whittaker
Practical Bamboos features the 50 best bamboos based on appearance and usefulness. A section on using bamboo in the garden covers topics such as incorporating bamboos in the mixed border, using them to create Japanese-style or Mediterranean-style gardens, using them for hedges and edging, establishing them in containers, choosing the right ones for difficult places, and selecting the best plants for small gardens or waterside planting.
Special features include: a handy checklists for each plant, more than 150 colour photographs, easy-care, problem-free bamboos, cultivation advice, design ideas for gardens of all sizes.
Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bamboos
by Ted Jordan Meredith
The Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bamboos covers 35 genera of bamboos in cultivation and describes more than 300 species and cultivars. Each entry includes the plant's maximum height, maximum culm diameter, light requirements, and minimum temperature tolerated.
Includes 300 color photographs for easy identification. Packed with all the authority of an encyclopedia in a pocket-size format, the Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bamboos is a perfect reference for taking to the nursery or garden center.
