Living bamboo hedges, screens, and wind breaks are attractive and excellent as an alternative to bamboo fence panels. If you choose a living fence you can even harvest some of it yourself for the purpose of making your own fence panels for elsewhere on your property, or use the harvested material to make a bamboo wind chime or bamboo fountain, a table or other furniture. Alternatively you could choose an edible species, such as Phyllostachys flexuosa ‘Zigzag Bamboo’, and take the option of having a living fence that can be harvested for food.

Hedge

Bamboo garden hedges are really impressive. They can be pruned, trimmed, or cut in a similar way that you would with any traditional hedging. There are a lot of species of bamboo plants that grow at different heights and spread in different ways. Some will spread faster than others by sending out runners but can be controlled to ensure they spread and grow where you want them to. An example species would be Phyllostachys heteroclada ‘Solidstem’, an aggressively spreading bamboo that is also edible and and suitable to grow in wetter climates. This species will grow to a maximum height of 24′. Wow, that’s some hedge.

Privacy Screen

Cultivation of bamboo species for garden privacy screens is a great option. You can grow an ornamental bamboo variety that can be cut or trimmed to achieve the desired outcome for your garden design. The differences between privacy screens and hedges is that screens are taller whereas hedges are much shorter, and hedges generally have a more formal appearance. An example of a suitable species would be Phyllostachys nigra ‘Hale’, being too tall for a hedge but making an excellent high branching bamboo screen plant with a moderate spreading habit and growing to a maximum height of 20′.

Windbreak

Bamboos are ideal for commercial wind breaks as well as domestic garden windbreaks, and can also be cultivated, cut, trimmed, or harvested. The benefits these plants provide include; wind force reduction, flexibility, root mass, stability, cultivation and suitable species. For a good windbreak you may like to consider a species such as Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Giant Japanese Timber Bamboo’. This is an excellent high branching species for windbreaks or screens with aggressive spreading, growth to a maximum height of 72′ and maximum culm diameter 6″.

Colours and Variations

Bamboo plant species come in a variety of colours with some leaves being dark green and some pale, some have variagated colouring and there are a variety of cane colours to choose from. For example, Hibanobambusa Tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’ has variegated cream and white striped leaves that make for a stunning hedge and the species can grow to a maximum height of 16′.

Caroline Ord-Hume provides a comprehensive resource full of guides and tips about bamboo fencing and gardens, bamboo plants, and bamboo products at her Bamboo Inspiration website. Visit http://www.bamboo-inspiration.com for more information and guides about these environmentally friendly fast growing plants and related products.