We have something of a jungle in our back garden.....well, a Bamboo jungle anyway. When we first moved here, some 7 years ago ! (oh how time flies)....we had to completely clear the back garden of very overgrown and very established hedges.
It took AGES to clear and a lot of hard work. The trouble was that at the end of all that hard work we were left with no privacy....I have nothing against neighbours seeing into our garden, but everyone wants their own bit of space. The decision then had to be what do we put in that would not only create privacy but also grow reasonably quickly...and above all be fairly easy to maintain.
Well, in the end we came up with BAMBOO !!
It took AGES to clear and a lot of hard work. The trouble was that at the end of all that hard work we were left with no privacy....I have nothing against neighbours seeing into our garden, but everyone wants their own bit of space. The decision then had to be what do we put in that would not only create privacy but also grow reasonably quickly...and above all be fairly easy to maintain.
Well, in the end we came up with BAMBOO !!
...and as you see it has been very successful.
Grows quickly : Yes
Creates privacy : Yes
Easy to maintain : Yes
So basically a winner all round. The easy to maintain bit for me is that husband does all the 'pruning', but so much easier than what was here origianlly. At least bamboo doesn't have all those branches to contend with, you simply snip at the base - job done AND you can use the canes around the garden to support other plants.
The above specimen is a 'clump' forming variety, so stays more or less where it was planted. It does, however, use its energy to grow Upwards. As you see Very High! This one must be approaching 20ft.
Another variety we have is a Yellow cane, this one is my all time favourite
but Not clump forming.....it Spreads!
and is gradually making its way amongst the other bamboo and heading off down the garden.....that's fine, it will just be trimmed as and when. Another nice thing is that on a windy day the sound of it rustling in the breeze is really lovely.
Of course, if things get too overgrown we could always adopt a panda!
but Not clump forming.....it Spreads!
and is gradually making its way amongst the other bamboo and heading off down the garden.....that's fine, it will just be trimmed as and when. Another nice thing is that on a windy day the sound of it rustling in the breeze is really lovely.
Of course, if things get too overgrown we could always adopt a panda!
7 comments:
It looks lovely!
I had bamboo several years ago and it spread like crazy! In the end I removed it which was very difficult, the roots are not very deep but very dense. I'd choose the panda if I were you. ;-) Have a nice day!
Sounds like your bamboo turned into a nightmare Judy! I'll keep you posted on ours:/
Wow, Ann!
I had never heard of using bamboo as a fence for privacy...but it seems like a great idea...especially for those of us who love nature so much!
Thank you for sharing that idea. The photos look great, too!
Thanks Mary. Apparently it is possible to just stand a cane of bamboo in the ground (no roots attached) and it will grow, they can then be intertwined and kept at a reasonable height for a tidy organised hedge....although we haven't tried that one....cheers ann.
Oh, Ann, I am jealous! I LOVE bamboo. I wish we could have some in our yard but it’s illegal to plant here (too invasive!) And you are right; the sound it makes in a breeze is so soothing!
P.S. Cute panda!
Hi Robin, I think we have surprised a few people here with the amount of bamboo we have in our garden. (Although back when we were clearing the garden we discovered that the original owners - circa 1964 - had designed it with a concrete type border in the ground) so hopefully it won't actually make it's way down to the sea)!!
Post a Comment