Over the years we have sold rather a lot of bamboos to hide an eyesore of some kind or another. Sometimes people have neighbours who are putting up an extension, sometimes people need to hide an ugly garage.

Some customers today have a garden which is at right angles to a row of houses on their east side. A number of large conifers had recently been removed leaving them feeling open and exposed by the houses which overlook their garden. They had decided to put a line of bamboos in to give them some privacy. Good choice but they needed help choosing the most suitable plants for their space. In fact they first need to remove some paving slabs which go right up to the fence between the properties. There is a temptation to buy the biggest, quickest bamboo available but they rightly recognised that this could prove to be a problem in later years.

The bamboo I suggested as being most appropriate is Fargesia robusta. This is clump forming and could grow to 12 feet or so. They chose the 5 litre pots rather than the 10 litre and luckily for them they get 20% off during this month while our sale is on. I grow the bamboos on site, they are not imported from Italy and therefore they are hardened off and can be planted at this time of year. So, a deposit was paid and they will come and collect them on Monday after they have prepared the site. By this time next year they should have an effective screen from the neighbours.