The sight, touch and rustling of bamboos calms and enriches any garden. It will provide a touch of the exotic, and while we all associate bamboo with hot climates, all the varieties chosen by us are perfectly acclimatised to cold winters.

Some of the varieties we often stock at Hennessy’s include Phyllostachys nigra the beautiful and graceful ‘Black Bamboo’ with its ebony culms (stems). Interesting to associate with yellow or green culm bamboos, it produces a non-running rhizome and is now a ‘must’ for any discerning gardener. Likes to be sheltered from wind.

Pleioblastus linearis is another non-spreading variety, which will grow, pretty much anywhere, reaching a height of up to 6 metres. A useful variety for a screen or a hedge.

Pleioblastus shibuyanus ‘Tsuboi’ is a highly ornamental variety, with green and creamy-white variegated leaves. It likes any kind of location and can be used in a pot, as a specimen or as a hedge.

Sasa tsuboiana a beautiful clump forming bamboo useful as a specimen or as a hedge. Ht to 2m.

Semiarundinaria kagamiana is about as tough as they come. Stands pruning well and is a perfect choice for hedges.

Hibanobambusa tranquillans another particularly robust variety. Used in Japan as hedges to divide parcels of land. Dense foliage. Ht to 5m.