JAPANESE artists travelled to the UK to work with bamboo that grows in a unique Cornish micro-climate, writes Lauren Beavis.

Experts in 'takezaiku' ventured thousands of miles to demonstrate their skills in a plantation at Trebah Garden, near Falmouth. The centuries-old Japanese art translates to "bamboo craft" in English.

Over the last 10 years, Trebah Gardens has started to produce some of the largest bamboo canes in the UK because of its unique micro-climate.

The 190-year-old sub-tropical garden contains the ideal conditions for growing bamboo, tree ferns, palm trees and magnolias throughout its 26-acre valley.

Photos show the Japanese craftsman Akihiro Mashimo, 48, and apprentice Yoshika Yakabe, 24, demonstrating how they select and cut the right canes for their beautiful woven designs.

Akihiro, from Kyoto, said he was pleased to find the specific canes he needed here in the UK.

He commented: "I have been searching for that kind of bamboo on this trip. My goal this time was to find something similar to the Japanese type in the UK, which is why I came here to Cornwall."

The Japanese tradition of takezaiku has been used for centuries to create items ranging from chopsticks, baskets and trays to entire bridges. While at Trebah, the team selected and cut bamboo, before hand-crafting an intricate fence panel, which they then gifted to the garden.

Akihiro and Yoshika have been working alongside London-based floral artist Alice McCabe to explore how traditional techniques can be used on UK-grown bamboo. Project leads said they hoped the results of the Cornish collaboration could be selected to be shown at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Alice, founder of London-based green art and education studio Metafleur, said she was inspired to invite the Japanese masters to experience Cornwall’s bamboo first hand after seeing a recent Monty Don visit.

Alice said: “It is a rare opportunity to be able to work with giant species of bamboo grown in the UK and a delight to partner with Trebah Gardens.

"Working together with Akihiro Mashimo, of Nagaoka Meichiku studio, I am particularly keen to emphasise the technical skill and beauty of Japanese fence making within our floral bamboo design collaboration.

"Working with cut giant bamboo from Trebah rather than imported giant species will make the display more sustainable and also allow the viewer to relish the fresh cut green exterior of the bamboo before it fades to a cream colour."

Head gardener Darren Dickey explained how the timber bamboo grows really well in Cornwall - and in particular at Trebah because of its moist, milder winters.

He said: "With regards to the climate at Trebah we are very lucky to benefit from the warming influence of the Gulf stream that warms the waters around the Helford estuary and means we are almost frost free all year round.

"This in turn with more moist weather throughout the winter and into spring helps maintain that lush tropical effect.

"With those elements combined it helps keep the exotic plants going through more sustained periods of drought that we have experienced this year.

"I do see this as becoming more of a trend and we seem to be experiencing more extremes of weather with long wet periods followed by longer dryer periods especially through the spring and into early summer.

"As for the bamboo this is something that has been growing in the garden for many years and has over the last 10 years started to produce some of the largest canes you will see growing anywhere in the UK outside of the tropical house at Kew.

"If you had this in very dry conditions, you would have very tiny, small canes."

Darren added the unique climate of the garden is "one of the many things that makes Trebah so special".