Graceful, colourful, evergreen and easy to grow - and suitable for anything from containers to bold accent plants to modest backdrops, bamboos are back in fashion and there's a huge range to choose from. There are two drawbacks to get to grips with first.

Some, most notoriously Sasa and Pleioblastus, spread vigorously by underground rhizomes and should not be planted in confined spaces unless you surround them with an impenetrable barrier 60cm (2ft deep) such as a section of plastic barrel. The other is their gloriously rococo names which change disconcertingly often, so you need an up-to-date guide to find the best species. Here is my personal choice. Pleioblastus pygmaeus is vivid green, only reaching about 30cm (12in) and is planted in lined pockets in my patio to stop it straying. Its larger cousin Pleioblastus auricomus (1m/3ft) has gaily striped green and yellow leaves, and I let it wander round my shrub bed it's easy enough to hack back if it spreads too far.

Fargesia murilae is more modest, a bit taller, but with a delicate leaves and stems that never get out of hand. One of the classiest bamboos is Phyllostachys nigra. The young canes start green but gradually turn to glossy black, easily visible through the delicate leaves. Contrast this with the vivid yellow of Pleioblastus aureosulcata Aureocaulis' - both reach around 3m (10ft).

February 12, 2003 11:00