Old and new

It shouldn't be there, naturally. Bamboos were introduced as exotic species at a time when adventurers travelled to foreign parts and saw something they coveted and brought a sample home for others to admire. It has made here its home. It has raised small saplings and extended the family. It is incongruous - for the most part - until someone feels it is encroaching into other, natural plants' space and then the "foreigner" needs to be excised. We prefer native born and bred. I am reminded of so many people, so called "new communities" who have made this place I call home, their home as well. Their children often speak with a strong N Irish accent, indiscernable from their peers. they are, like the bamboo, part of our normal every day life - that is until they are perceived to have encroached into other peoples places, take other people's jobs, houses, benefits etc. Then they are, once again, a foreigner.  This is a travesty. Diversity enriches us all and should be embraced and not feared.  I, for one, believe that our Botanical Gardens are a better place for the bamboo and our society to be more rich as a result of our new communities!