Bamboo Nursery

Collection
Biltmore Estate
Ashville, NC

Grove
Carl Sandburg Home
  Flatrock, NC

 Heading south from Ashville it's not far to Flatrock.  Keep a lookout for signs point to Carl Sandburg's home.  The fist time we stopped here it was raining, we were in a hurry, and we took a tour of the home without seeing the grounds.  The next time we passed thru we decided to stop again and visit at a more lesiurely pace.  Walking up to the home I was amazed to find a huge grove of P. aureosulcata in the front yard.  I was suitably impressed by the size of the culms and we all thoroughly enjoyed walking the many trails around the property and touring the goat dairy.  This site is now a National Park.

Groves
Old Silveroak Cemetary
Anderson, SC

Many people know about the famous Moso groves in Anderson and if you've never been, we encourage you to visit.  Besides the large groves at the  cemetary, be sure to drive by the old Fant estate which has Moso that may be even larger.  Drive around the town and you are sure to see several groves of bamboo, and not just Moso.  The entire town seems to have bamboo planted all over. 

Groves
Bellingrath Gardens
Mobile, AL

We visited Bellingrath while on vacation because we always enjoy seeing older homes and gardens that are open to the public.  The home was not very impressive and although the gardens were extensive and beautiful  the groves of bamboo we found made it really worthwhile.  We came without expecting bamboo and found two large groves of Moso with some very large culms, several over 4 inches in diameter.  Along with the Moso there were several groves of clumping bamboo and at least one other grove of some type of Phyllostachys. 

Collection
Botanical Gardens
Birmingham, AL

Living in the Birmingham area I am somewhat biased but I think you will enjoy the local botanical gardens, especially the bamboo collection.  There are large groves of Black bamboo, Robert Young, P.viridis, P.bissetii, and many others.   There is a young grove of Moso that  will be impressive someday if the Bissetii doesn't smother it!  There are a few ground covers scattered about including Sasa vetchii,  P.variegatus, and I.tessalatus. You can also see a large grove of P.japonica that has flowered (not a pretty sight!)

Collection
Botanical Gardens
Atlanta, GA

We've only been here once but tried to see all the garden.  There are several groves of different Phyllostachys and in the green house is a huge clumper.  The gardens are nice, with a great collection of carnivorous plants (another of my passions) but I believe Birmingham has a more extensive collections of bamboo.

Collection/Groves
Wilderness Park
Prattville, AL

Prattville is just north of Montgomery, Al.  The best way to find the Wildnerness Park is to go to Prattville and ask!  This small, ten acre park is unique.  There is a paved path thru the mixture of bamboo and forest.  There are three main species here, P.v.'Robert Young', P.n.'Henon', and P.aureosulcata (I think.)  The culms are huge, the trees are huge, and once you're inside, the park has an otherworld feel.  The park suffers from a severe lack of maintenance but is well worth visiting. 

Collection/Groves
University of Georgia
Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens
Savannah, GA

This is the site of a former USDA import station.  There are dozens of species of bamboo, many mature groves.  One of the most impressive collections of bamboo in the United States.

Collection/Groves
Jungle Gardens
Avery Island, LA

We visited here a few years ago and were impressed.  There are many species of bamboo but few are identified.   We visited in July, it was 100+ degrees and in my 40+ years of living in the south I've never seen that many mosquitos at one time!  We could not leave the car for over a few minutes at a time and we were covered with bites.  Be forewarned.