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Who: Tom’s Bamboo.

What it makes: Owner Tom Burton grows 30 to 40 varieties of bamboo plants to sell, but he also makes bamboo fences, furniture, water spouts and fountains. His most popular plant is a cold-hardy bamboo that does well in Whatcom County’s winters, he said. He splits his time between growing bamboo and landscaping Asian-style gardens for clients.

Volume: Burton has about 3,000 plants in different stages of growth on his property in Blaine.

Marketplace: Burton sells plants at the Bellingham Farmers Market on Saturdays, and he travels to art shows throughout Whatcom and Skagit counties to sell his furniture and water spouts.

Production process: Burton grows his plants the “old-fashioned way,” as he says, and plants the seeds in pots.

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