even if i bought wood.. to make it last.. i would have them potted in plastic and insure there were a lot of drain holes in the wood ... so it stayed as dry as possible .. so determination of the planter size.. would be a function of the pot size ... if that makes sense ... so.. at a min.. i would be thinking about a MINIMUM of a 25 gallon black pot ... see link.. no clue if that is a good price.. i got most of mine from recycle bins .... but i dont use them decoratively ... and that one is already 25 inches wide at the top .... any even in nurseries.. plants of the size you want.. BLOW OVER.. wind and stability are going to be your BIG PROBLEM ... especially if you buy them big ... and i should also point out.. that conifers have very specific potting media issues.. and what you fill the pot with will also be very important.. and its not going to be your standard bag of potting media .... i am sure you can do it.. but i doubt you are going to find the info you need here.. with the specificity you wish .... i simply dont think us tree peeps are going to have a lot of specific info for you ... other than to list the variables .... good luck ken ps: winter storage will also be an issue .... Here is a link that might be useful: link -- you shop price.. i am just showing the pot

The only way bamboo will spread is by rhizomes. Which are pretty much like roots. So as long as it can't travel from the plant through dirt in a path someplace else it will fine. Bamboo does not drop seeds. Well it does but only once every 50 - 100 years or so. Yes you can get bamboo already tall. Or just grow it from a smaller one. You can buy 6 foot tall bamboo for a reasonable price online. Get's pretty expensive if you go taller. In about 3 years it will have grown quite crazy even from a smaller pot of it. I bought some that were about 2 feet tall and very small and this year they are shooting at about 5 feet so far, and still growing. Some of my bamboo from the year before are looking at 10 feet maybe this year. Except zone 5 is another matter. Zone 5 is brutal on bamboo. That is the limit for only the most cold hardy species. And even then it usually dies back every year to the ground and will regrow in spring. But that's in the ground. In pots, probably forget about it. At some point it will probably totally die all the way in a pot. If you could wheel the pots in some place for the winter you'd be fine. Doesn't have to be in the house, just some place where winter isn't giving it a beating and slightly warmer than outside. Maybe a shed with a roof that lets light in or something. Probably won't even die back at all then. And will look nice all year. So if you can do that Phyllostachys Bissetii is very dense and very cold hardy. There is a dwarf version that is a little smaller also. That might be even better. I just started growing some myself. But again eventually so many roots and rhizomes will grow that you'll have to thin it out in a pot so it doesn't get rootbound. Good news is you can always sell those divisions you take off it. Or use them in other spots of the yard. Or if you can somehow manage to find a place in the ground you can just use a bamboo barrier (thick plastic barrier, you can buy online). The bamboo will take a beating in winter and die back to the ground but pop up from the ground in spring. You can throw a tarp over it to help it survive better too and protect it through winter. We have plenty of collectors on the forums that grow bamboo in New York, but it does take extra work, and time.

I’ve looked around at outdoor furniture but haven’t decided yet! Definitely something in natural colors/beachy/clean. Any advice for accessories/furniture/textiles would also be greatly appreciated as this is not my forte! (I know what I like on Pinterest, but can’t throw it together on my own.) Thinking of putting a table next to the privacy screen and a sectional or two sofas in the corner by the house. Will post an updated pic after pergola is on! Thanks for everyone’s feedback!

Sorry the picture came out so blurry… but the darker green spots above our back patio are the arborvitae i want transplanted to create a more open backyard. thanks again!