Hmm, not sure that's a good idea Freesabird - unless you keep the bamboo in a large pot in the centre, or put in a root barrier around it. Don't forget they spread sideways through the soil, and if it's in a small bed to start with, it won't be long before it takes over.

Fargesia Murielae is a clumping bamboo that does not send out yards of new growth every year. I would plant it in a very large pot if you want to control its size and breadth - though it does not grow that quickly that you could not manually control it. It also is a great screening bamboo and grows tall quickly. It will tolerate light and shade, though keep it watered if very strong sun.

Phylostachys nigra, the black stemmed bamboo is quite well behaved too. It grows to 10 feet. The only problem that you may get is that fallen bamboo leaves inhibit the growth of other plants around them.

We have/had both of these and the first is a thug of the first water. I got rid of it in the end by removing all the soil in the bed which it had spread and killed everything else. Even then it continued to grow in the lawn for a few years afterwards, despite being treated with weed killer. Another bed had a variegated version of it and that was even harder to remove.
The Black bamboo in my garden takes an axe every year to stop the roots from spreading into the rest of the garden and I mean a big sharp axe. It too has killed everything it has come into contact with, except Miscanthus giganteus, which is an equally invasive thug.
Think again!

Oh dear, bamboos are getting a hard time! When you plant a bamboo you need to be very careful which one you use. There are some that don't spread out too much, but the Black Bamboo isn't one of them I don't think. I ruled that one out as it has a reputation for running all over the place, beautiful though it is. There are a few websites that specialise in Bamboos, and they will tell you which ones are clumpers and which are spreaders. If you want to, you can also restrict the root run by planting in a large container in the soil, much as you might do with a mint. I would think that the nicest thing to partner it, in a circular border, would be some evergreen grasses. They would compliment it nicely, or for contrast, but keeping the oriental(ish) style, I would recommend Choisya Aztec Pearl or White Dazzler, which have a lovely graceful habit and are evergreen. Of course it depends on how much space you have in there. I have several Bamboos and although they make lovely big plants, they are not giving me any problems yet and they do look lovely all through the winter. Just be careful!

i plant mine in old kiddies play pens with the nylon handles .i cut the bottom out and bury the the tub with plant etc as .treated wright in the start its know problem .

Good tip noseypotter!

your welcome x .

thanks to all of you for your thoughts, I shall have a bit of a 'mull over' the comments about bamboos in general, also what to plant with them. We are in a typically English village setting here, so didn't want to go all out for the oriental look [especially in a front garden] so thought that a large bamboo in the centre with a spreading but elegant habit [ a bit like moi!] and surrounded by more conventional evergreen shrubs and plants may solve the problem of needing cover fairly quickly [sadly we don't have 20 years in which to see our plants develop.]I shall look up the choisyas mentioned Karensusan, thank you, out of interest, which bamboos do you have?Owdboggy, you scared me! I think it was the bit about the very sharp axe.

You can buy root rhizome barrier over the internet for use with bamboos to restrict their root spread, or do what everyone else does, by and large - buy one of those smaller dustbins (about 3 feet high) cut the bottom out, insert into the ground, fill with soil and plant the bamboo into that.

thanks Bamboo [and all] the advice about planting bamboos in a large plastic pot seems a good idea. It shall be done .

its good because its rigid and the edges naturaly slope slightly outwards meaning any new shoots which you dont want spreading are likley to grow out of the top wear you can neatly cut them of or propergate some new plants .