Michael Brisbane developed his passion for bamboos while travelling in the far east, and for 26 years ran the bamboo business Jungle Giants in Shropshire, until it was acquired by Bowdens at the end of 2014.

As the demand for bamboo increased in the UK, Jungle Giants became the nation's leading bamboo resource centre. Michael's bamboo collection now boasts over 200 different species, and probably one of the most comprehensive collections of temperate bamboo in the UK and Europe.

The bamboo collection was built up from collection trips to the far east and specialists throughout the world. Michael even mounted an expedition to Indonesia to source tropical bamboo for the Eden Project. He has also driven a lot of experimentation with newly introduced species with regard to their hardiness and horticultural merit in British gardens.

Michael's knowledge of bamboo has made him the first call for landscape architects, specifiers and garden designers, many of whom are well-known names in the media. Over the years the company has supplied bamboo to botanical gardens, both in this country and abroad, and most unusually to both Thailand and Malaysia. Other exports have been to Finland, Iceland and Norway.

Michael’s bamboo nursery was featured in the RHS magazine The Garden in September 2014. Bowdens continue to sell the finest bamboo.