Yes you can.
The bow that Ed refers to is make of 1/2 inch(ish) diameter garden canes. I shamelessly copied the idea for mine from Volume 1 of The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Chapter 2 - Design and performance section by Tim Baker :notworthy .
You can also make very good bows from large diameter bamboo, but it can be tricky to work with and finding a source of the big stuff can be hard. I got some 3-4" diameter from a garden centre, that is about the lower limit for splitting and laminating a bow, probably a bit too thin for making a whole bow from a section.
The garden cane bundle bow will work with any bundle of thinner sticks, TTBB even has a picture of one made of old arrows!! :rolmao:
The recipe is pretty easy. You want about five canes, though the longest section doesn't need to be more than 6 feet, it is easier to find slightly the slightly thicker bamboo in 8foot lengths. Some of the stuff sold in 6 foot lengths is a bit weedy. Check that it doesn't have cracks or holes, and is well seasoned. If it is still a little green it really needs to be baked a bit in the sun to turn it yellow/gold.
There is a lot of info on line about tempering bamboo for bows and fishing rods, I haven't tried that, it seems to run counter to the simplicity of a bundle bow. Bet tempered canes would work well though!
There are two ways of laying out the canes. Either have one 6', one 5', one 4" and one 2", lash together every 6 inches, alternate the thick and thin ends from one end of the bow to the other, you don't want all the thickest ends of the canes all in one bow limb.
The other way is basically the same, except that you use two 5'6" canes and stagger them so that the thin ends make the limb tips, one each limb, This is instead of using a 6' and a 5' cane.
Nocks for a string are a bit of a pain in thin bamboo. Best bet is to take thin cord and make wrap-on nocks soaked with glue. Bamboo is slippery and its hard to make lashings stay put. If you cut into the can it will break, so tye on nocks seem the only way. You could drill horn or wood over nocks as used on long bows, but again that is more complicated.
Don't try to glue the lashings that hold the bow together. I have heard you can use gaffer tape instead of cord to bind the bow together. The canes do need to be able to move relative to one another though. Waxed cord works great if you can get it. Linen as used for shoe repair is pretty strong.
If too many canes are used in the grip area you make the arrow do a lot of work to bend round the bow. Better to keep it as slip as possible.
Now you are gonna tell me that you didn't mean that kind of bow!!! :yikes: :rolmao: