Gardengal, thank you especially reminding me to think of bamboo as a tall grass... You mention conifers as natural companions, but would you include tall hemlocks and spruces? How about large maples and oak trees? For one area I have in mind it would have to be worked in with these. Another area I have in mind is perhaps better -- replacing declining ash trees along a steep, north facing driveway. But then I picture them with all of the daffodils in the spring and it just seems off. Is this a failure of imagination?

It sounds like you don't have the kind of space bamboo needs to fit in well.

Fargesia rufa, which is one I grow, look a lot like Hakone grass on steroids. The same growth habit, the same waterfall effect, often the same cat hiding place, only about 5 times the size and evergreen. So it takes up a lot of space, and is going to look awkward crowded.

I agree that Fargesia rufa would not be better than shade-tolerant shrubs, like the andromeda and viburnum I already have. The places I am considering it all call for greater height.

If the fargesia isn't tall enough, then you are into running bamboo like yellow groove Phyllostachys. It isn't particularly shade tolerant, and requires a decent size grove to look like anything or provide any privacy.

In that case, I think I may be barking up the wrong tree (or grass)..

Look at Fargesia robusta - this forms very upright clumps of 12-15 feet and is ideal for screening purposes. It IS shade (and cold) tolerant. The cultivar 'Pingwu' could reach as tall as 18'.

Tossing in my 2 cents ... I dug up a page provided by Lewis Bamboo. Came across this several years ago and thought is was one of the more useful and informative sites about cold-hardy bamboo. My experience would concur with their general claims about running vs. clumping...

http://www.lewisbamboo.com/clumping-bamboo.html

I am a little concerned about the cold hardiness of the Fargesia robusta in zone 6b. Some sites say hardy to zone 5, others to 7? Difference may be in the amount of dieback to expect in harsh winters? The Lewis Bamboo article is very good. Thank you. I still wish I could see some examples of bamboo used in combination with trees and shrubs...

I'd definitely double and triple check hardiness on the robusta. A lot of the zone ratings seem to be for crown hardiness, and since bamboo can take several years to recover from a hard winter, that isn't a particularly useful statement. Bamboo took a hard hit last year from a not particularly difficult winter, and is basically going to look like crap for another year or two.

Bamboo doesn't really combine with trees and shrubs. In the north (anything lower than zone 8) it requires too much sun to do well under trees, and it overwhelms shrubs. About ten years ago, there was a bamboo guru in Columbia Co. who participated in Open Days and gave lectures on bamboo. All of hers was treated as specimens in a very large landscape.

So if I am to consider bamboo only as a specimen, how does it compare (aesthetically) with the tallest grasses available?

I would agree that bamboo looks better by itself rather than competing with trees and shrubs for the same space.