Most utility companies or neighhood policy keep you from altering the look of the actual item. But you can make a corner or U shaped picket fence to soften them...One that can be pulled up if they have to do big work on the utilities. I have seen a headboard cut in half and put together to make a corner fence. You might make a box and decorate like a birdhouse or firehouse or fairy house and set over the small utilities, but label them with a sign saying what is under them. DO NOT cover a fire hydrant.

I suppose layered would add some additional protection, same as the double paned windows do. But will you really need it? Sorry I'm not up to snuff on your zone. My point was originally more the aesthetics of the planter. I mean, if it's front center, the xmas lights would pull the eye from the plain foam board I guess. Or...maybe do up a REALLY big wreath for it. Hey, xmas lights add warmth. ;) The interesting thing about the type of foam board I got from the concrete supply place is how different it is compared to the type I've seen sold to home owners for insulating their houses, at places like Home Depot. Though I imagine if a place sells concrete for large enough jobs, they must have this stuff. This stuff is heavier, tougher, and a bit thicker. No idea what the contractors do with it. It's a wholesale only place and they sell to some really big jobs. Government type stuff ( bridge/highway sized things), besides jobs doing additions to schools, apt. buildings,etc. I do wonder what they use it for. I watched a video of a guy doing that bend it over type of winterizing. I'm with you..yikes ! Anybody leans too much in my garden, they get whacked off. My bamboos are all older, so they need whacked now and then anyway. I'm the token grandma here, and my bamboo addiction started 30 years ago. That first rhizome was a Vivax (a leaner ), so it's pretty impressive now. I'm still learning and seeing new things all the time. I love seeing the photos when members show their plants. Glad I don't have to make those kind of winter choices. Over the years I have had occasion to run out and wrap a plant or shrub in whatever I could dig up. I've used my own blankets in an emergency. Yes, the neighbors notice. They roll their eyes and say something funny about how I love my plants. LOL Google Reemay, it's nice stuff, and it lasts from year to year. Not sure if it's available in an affordable size for bamboo though. I have some pieces that I know are at least 15 years old, but I've not used them every year, so I'm not sure how long it would last that way. With luck, someone with more info about your climate will come along and be able to help. You might also try the search engine at http://www.bambooweb.info/. Those guys know their stuff. I cruise quietly through their forms once in awhile. Much of it's over my head, but it's fun. :) Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.bambooweb.info/

Dan, Using a temperature probe, I found my SFG soil temps were within the 50 to 70 degree range for most of the season. Toward the fruiting stage at the end of July and beginning of August, soil temperatures would climb above this range. Regarding weeds and mulch, I was using an organic approach and did not use a plastic mulch so my soil could sustain more microbial life. I did try a loose straw mulch and found that the straw cut down on weeds, but did not totally eliminate weeding. The straw required additional nitrogen fertilizer to replace what it used in decomposition. Water management definitely was lacking. Working in an open area with intense sunlight and drying winds did not help the already fast draining SFG. The inability to guess what my watering needs would be each morning, likely was one of the biggest culprits. With the plants unwilling to send roots deep into the less desirable soil under the bed, they were more susceptable to water stress too. Because I used an organic approach, I became very successful at fostering a living soil that rapidly broke down compost and organic fertilizers. So much so, that I would almost watch the compost disappear before my eyes. Slow release fertilizers are not a great alternative either, as they seem to be heat activated. A large release followed by smaller levels of available fertilizer is seemingly what happens. I do think that a deeper SFG with more frequent watering might help. I am considering using a water-based or slow-release fertilizer combination. Since, I would not use organic fertilzer this time around, a plastic mulch might be used. I might even consider a shade cloth for the end of season hot days.

I have only read the All New Square Foot Gardening Book and I am pretty sure it goes into detail on how to construct the boxes. I'll give you a quick run down though. No the boxes do not need a bottom. Some people do and some people do not. If you are going to go the 6" deep route I would definately go without a bottom because the roots will most likely go down a little more. Go to one of the box stores and buy two 8' pieces of 1x6 pine. Cut the pieces in half. Now you have 4 4' pieces of 1x6. Screw those together into a box and fill with Mel's mix or other soil. The grid doesn't have to be anything special. You can just eyeball it or actually mark it with just about anything. There is a thread on this board that goes into detail about what others use to mark them. Everything from old blinds to bamboo to string to lattice work. Some people fix the markers to the box and some just lay them in the dirt. Do you have the book?