Hello Serene Blue ( and all who wrote her about vicious plants for home
security!)

Here in Canada, much harsher winters we also use pyracantha, and
climbing roses painstakingly braided through the fences, not only along
the top row, bot woven up and down, so that the frist step climbed is
even nasty, long before you get to the top.

But, there is a plant no one mentioned to you! It's a Canadian small
tree called Honeysuckle. Somebody discovered a mutant which doesn't
produce throns, and now is one of the most utilized cityscape trees
here in Toronto. The NATIVE honeysuckle (you can find seeds online)
has one inch thorns that are really nasty and LONG LASTING. These
trees don't get much more than 10-15' tall, and take very nicely to
pruning and shaping, not like a hedge, but more the braiding techniques
of a hedgerow.

If you can handle them at knee, waist, and then chest and face height
for a few years, the form an African-acacia type umbrella crown,
naturally, or you can weave all the branches and braid them in a
self-formed lattice at or just above your fence line. The one inch
throns were used by settlers years and years ago as sewing needles for
leather work. LEATHER WORK!

If someone gets stuck on one of them, they're gonna run to the
hospital, and WON'T be back to your Castle. Shells, and gravel around
the edges of your property will make noise, when trespassed onto, and
is much better than stringing bells along your fence line (windy days
will drive you nuts)

Good Luck Serene!
Serene Blue wrote:
Hi all,
After the umpteenth burglary at "casa bleu", I need to resort to some
stiff security steps.

I want to stop "yoofs" climbing onto my garage flat roof, and sneaking
into the back yard, where they proceed to help themselves to my hard
earned money/boot my doggy/steal my cars. I am not really keen on razor
wire and don't want to reapply for my firearms license at this moment.

I want to plant some thorny barriers. And was thinking of a double row
of Hawthorn hedging around the rear of the garage for people to
castrate themselved by jumping into, and some kind of a pot-borne
climbing rose trailing over the front of the garage, and along the
longer side.

Would Hawthorn (C. Monogyna?) damage walls or foundations if grown slap
up againt the rear wall of the garage? How about common Gorse? My garden
soil is moist, clay like (Liverpool Weather) and partially shaded.

Also could you suggest a very thorny, fast growing evergreen climber I
could grow over the front door/roofline of the garage and along one of
the longer sides? The longer side needs to be covered by a climber that
is happy to grow from a pot, if possble, otherwise I will need to take
off a pavement slab and plant it in the ground right up against the
wall of the house.

I would like a solution that is kind and welcoming to the birdies and
beasties that visit my garden at this moment, something that offers
them food and protection would be especially nice.

Is there a thorny barrier that is evergreen/non deciduous that I can
stick along the fence as well? Hopefully with a bird and building
friendly characteristic?




--
Serene Blue