Bye Bye Bamboo!!

 I thought when I planted the miniature bamboo in the driveway side bed that it wasn't going to cause too many problems...boy was I wrong.
It kept me pretty busy keeping it in order....but it was pretty and I liked having it there.

Alas! pretty wasn't cutting it anymore.  It started to really get out of control....wanting to escape from the bed altogether and the roots began to break up the edge of the bed.....that's when I knew it had to go.

One Sunday morning last month I decided to take on the task of clearing it out.
The night before I had drenched the bed with the hose....really soaking it with tons of water.
That would make it easy to dig out, or so I thought.
Well I thought wrong.
I showed up the next morning and trimmed off the upper portions of the plants.  I armed myself with a large garden fork and proceeded to TRY to dig those brutes out....they didn't even budge.
I could hear them laughing at me.
I figured I'd soak the bed again and try again, but that was an absolute waste of time and proved to be quite futile.
What's a girl to do?
Call in her male reinforcements of course!
My friend Andrew came by and started the ball rolling...with a pick axe he dug out about half of those devils before he had to leave.
My brother Vesta who was visiting the island also passed by to say hello while we were working but we were both so hell bent on getting the job done that we couldn't stop to chat for very long.

Lifting out those tightly wound roots was heavy going but I managed to clear away the section that Andrew had dug out.

The roots had grown together as one thick mass....impossible to break apart.
I think these would make great candidates for areas with soil erosion.

 See that crack in the bed edge that the roots created?

My techie friend Charles decided he wanted to help out too so he also came by and dug out the last remaining section.

It was hard going...my poor friend Charles was sweating profusely and I felt really sorry for him, but he said he was okay and really glad to help.
He dug all of the remaining roots out.
That afternoon after clearing away all the roots, I sat down and carefully made sure that all signs of the bamboo roots were removed from the rock crevices and from every nook and cranny of the bed.
It just takes a very small piece of root for bamboo to replenish itself...after all it is a grass.
When I was satisfied that I got them all out, I felt a sense of relief.
I then repaired the crack with some "Hard as Nails" and left it to dry overnight.

The following day I filled the bed up with some drainage rocks and filled it with new soil.

I planted four Lady Palms to take the place of the bamboo....they will give me the look I am going for and I hope they don't prove too problematic.
I told my girlfriend Dawn that she can come by any time and pot as many offshoots as she wants for her plant shop....after all she was the one who gifted me the Lady Palms....smile.
This process will help to keep the bed in good order....hopefully.
I have a sea rock collection that I will use to decorate the top soil of the bed....these will help to retain the moisture in the soil. 
I'm so happy that I finished this re-landscaping project before the rains start.
The palms will fill in nicely with adequate rainfall.....keeping my fingers and toes crossed.