WEBVTT 00:00.500 --> 00:03.069 [peaceful traditional Japanese composition] 00:05.038 --> 00:08.375 (narrator) In the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, 00:08.375 --> 00:10.443 there is a quiet place. 00:12.679 --> 00:17.083 You can your heartbeat if you pause to listen... 00:17.083 --> 00:21.521 or the near silent fall of distant rain-- 00:21.521 --> 00:23.656 at least, that's what it sounds like 00:23.656 --> 00:26.192 as the wind filters through the grove. 00:28.928 --> 00:31.264 (man, Japanese accent) 00:58.158 --> 01:01.094 (narrator) Keiji Oshima and his wife, Stefani, 01:01.094 --> 01:04.931 have created a small paradise here in Henderson County, 01:04.931 --> 01:07.033 six acres of bamboo forest 01:07.033 --> 01:09.536 that must be experienced firsthand 01:09.536 --> 01:12.505 to fully and deeply appreciate. 01:12.505 --> 01:15.608 (Stefani) We first came over 25 years ago. 01:15.608 --> 01:18.511 Our land, it was just open grass. 01:18.511 --> 01:20.947 (narrator) They started the Haiku Bamboo Nursery 01:20.947 --> 01:24.417 after becoming convinced that the climate here was perfect 01:24.417 --> 01:26.920 and a lot like Keiji's native Japan. 01:28.922 --> 01:31.958 Many species of bamboo along with soybeans 01:31.958 --> 01:34.361 and some 200,000 other exotics 01:34.361 --> 01:36.262 were introduced to the U.S. 01:36.262 --> 01:39.165 by botanist and plant explorer David Fairchild 01:39.165 --> 01:41.334 in the early 20th century, 01:41.334 --> 01:43.737 and over the years, this tall plant 01:43.737 --> 01:45.872 with its familiar sectional structure 01:45.872 --> 01:50.276 has acquired a reputation for wild, unmanaged growth. 01:50.276 --> 01:53.013 That's why it became invasive. 01:53.013 --> 01:55.081 They didn't know what to do with it, 01:55.081 --> 01:56.850 how to maintain it. 01:56.850 --> 01:58.918 [drums lead] 01:58.918 --> 02:00.420 (narrator) Given his sensitivity 02:00.420 --> 02:02.522 to this deceivingly simple plant, 02:02.522 --> 02:06.426 Keiji cultivates over 23 different bamboo species. 02:06.426 --> 02:08.528 Out of 1,400 worldwide, 02:08.528 --> 02:11.898 only three species are native to the U.S., 02:11.898 --> 02:14.267 and one of them, hill cane, 02:14.267 --> 02:17.904 was discovered in Henderson County. 02:17.904 --> 02:21.141 Black bamboo is especially coveted by collectors. 02:21.141 --> 02:23.343 The stem starts out green, 02:23.343 --> 02:25.979 then gradually turns a vivid black. 02:25.979 --> 02:27.847 Wow! 02:27.847 --> 02:30.717 (narrator) The long, skinny yadake bamboo variety 02:30.717 --> 02:34.220 also is known as arrow bamboo. 02:34.220 --> 02:37.190 Very beautiful-- this one. 02:37.190 --> 02:38.858 Very beautiful bamboo. 02:38.858 --> 02:41.494 I love it. 02:41.494 --> 02:44.030 (narrator) From the ground-hugging dwarf bamboo... 02:46.032 --> 02:49.302 to the large grove of madake bamboo, 02:49.302 --> 02:50.970 these plants, actually classified 02:50.970 --> 02:54.741 as evergreen grasses, provide endless fascination. 02:56.743 --> 02:59.546 Their majestic stalks, called culms, 02:59.546 --> 03:01.281 pull the eye upward. 03:03.283 --> 03:06.286 Each individual plant is part of an interlinked colony, 03:06.286 --> 03:07.987 feeding nutrients down 03:07.987 --> 03:10.357 and through a network of underground stems, 03:10.357 --> 03:13.193 or feeder roots, called rhizomes. 03:13.193 --> 03:14.928 As the grove matures, 03:14.928 --> 03:17.230 rhizomes spread out in all directions, 03:17.230 --> 03:19.232 extending the bamboo grove's reach 03:19.232 --> 03:21.768 and giving the grid of below-ground roots 03:21.768 --> 03:25.105 a steellike strength-- great for erosion control. 03:27.107 --> 03:29.009 (Keiji) 03:38.184 --> 03:39.753 Ohh! 03:39.753 --> 03:41.755 Like this--netting... 03:47.694 --> 03:50.730 (narrator) Each spring, the rhizomes send out new growth. 03:50.730 --> 03:52.866 The culms soon shoot skyward 03:52.866 --> 03:55.301 and quickly achieve full height and diameter 03:55.301 --> 03:57.303 after only two months. 03:57.303 --> 04:00.340 Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world 04:00.340 --> 04:02.676 and can be harvested much more frequently 04:02.676 --> 04:05.979 than pines or hardwoods used for lumber, 04:05.979 --> 04:09.249 making bamboo one of the world's most eco-friendly, 04:09.249 --> 04:12.819 green, and easily renewable natural resources. 04:12.819 --> 04:14.921 [flute leads peaceful composition] 04:14.921 --> 04:18.558 Keiji numbers each culm for the year it was born 04:18.558 --> 04:21.327 and doesn't let them age more than five years. 04:24.030 --> 04:26.032 (Keiji, voice-over) 04:32.906 --> 04:35.608 (narrator) If a happy forest is a productive forest, 04:35.608 --> 04:38.812 that would be all the more true of a grove like this 04:38.812 --> 04:40.580 because bamboo is said to be 04:40.580 --> 04:44.117 the world's most practical plant... 04:44.117 --> 04:46.619 from huge, awe-inspiring structures 04:46.619 --> 04:50.457 like houses constructed from sturdy bamboo poles... 04:50.457 --> 04:52.459 to delicate works of art. 04:52.459 --> 04:54.461 [energetic drums lead] 04:54.461 --> 04:57.731 In the hands of a skilled artisan like Keiji, 04:57.731 --> 05:00.333 bamboo can become almost anything... 05:04.204 --> 05:06.573 apothecary jars, for instance. 05:08.742 --> 05:11.111 It can be used for medicinal purposes... 05:13.113 --> 05:16.549 and to make attractive and durable clothing. 05:18.852 --> 05:21.287 Of course, there's bamboo furniture 05:21.287 --> 05:23.890 and countless other useful things, 05:23.890 --> 05:27.160 like baskets... 05:27.160 --> 05:29.162 lots of baskets. 05:32.766 --> 05:35.669 Plenty of physical labor goes into growing 05:35.669 --> 05:38.338 and harvesting this crop, 05:38.338 --> 05:41.107 but it's not all hard work. 05:41.107 --> 05:44.377 Now the Oshimas have added bamboo educators 05:44.377 --> 05:47.280 to their titles. 05:47.280 --> 05:50.283 (Stefani) After we had experience running our nursery, 05:50.283 --> 05:54.220 we realized, so many people ask questions. 05:54.220 --> 05:56.890 It has took up all our time. 05:56.890 --> 05:58.892 Good afternoon, Haiku Bamboo Nursery, 05:58.892 --> 06:00.560 can I help you? 06:00.560 --> 06:03.163 [voice-over] We decided, we better open a school now 06:03.163 --> 06:05.832 because they wanna know more about it. 06:05.832 --> 06:08.501 (narrator) Classes include bamboo biology, 06:08.501 --> 06:12.038 soil management, hands-on farm activities, 06:12.038 --> 06:14.040 and product marketing, 06:14.040 --> 06:18.345 but bamboo's main attraction remains its grace and beauty. 06:18.345 --> 06:21.314 Just ask people who take the tours. 06:21.314 --> 06:24.751 (Stefani) Once they walk in, it's like a completely different world, 06:24.751 --> 06:27.420 and they don't say a word. 06:27.420 --> 06:32.158 (narrator) Keiji, of course, is totally familiar with this phenomenon. 06:32.158 --> 06:34.694 (Keiji) 06:34.694 --> 06:36.696 [peaceful composition] 06:55.648 --> 06:59.652 (Stefani) Many people have walked into walking tours 06:59.652 --> 07:02.655 where 35, 40 minutes, they don't say nothing 07:02.655 --> 07:04.924 until I tap them on the shoulder, 07:04.924 --> 07:06.926 say, "Let's go." 07:06.926 --> 07:08.795 [both laughing] 07:08.795 --> 07:10.797 [drumming returns] 07:10.797 --> 07:13.566 (narrator) Flowering bamboo is something growers may see 07:13.566 --> 07:15.301 only once in a lifetime 07:15.301 --> 07:17.404 because some plants rarely bloom-- 07:17.404 --> 07:20.106 every 65 to 120 years. 07:20.106 --> 07:21.875 What's more, many bamboo plants 07:21.875 --> 07:24.778 from the same species flower gregariously, 07:24.778 --> 07:26.479 all at the same time, 07:26.479 --> 07:28.348 regardless of where in the world 07:28.348 --> 07:30.216 they may have been transplanted, 07:30.216 --> 07:32.652 and then they die. 07:38.291 --> 07:40.560 (narrator) Throughout time, this ancient plant 07:40.560 --> 07:43.830 has provoked considerable mystery and awe, 07:43.830 --> 07:47.534 and clearly, there remains much to learn. 07:47.534 --> 07:50.570 (Keiji, voice-over)