Plants for home security
 

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?

Plants for home security
 

"Serene Blue" wrote in message
...

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

The Police actuall recommend a bush called (sp) Pyrocantha. Someone will
correct me on the spelling. Bush with nasty thorns on it.

Another thing you can do is erect wire netting which is not tight and
secure. ie when they try to climb it tit collapses, but not to ground level
whereby they walk over it.

Another is a remote dummy if you like, camera. Out of reach but very
visible.

If electricity is readily available, a strong PIR 500 watt floodlight which
they trigger and depending on the area/neighbourhood, a bell or alarm fitted
to the same circuit.

Just a few things I do know have been done in various places :-))

Mike


--
--------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
www.nsrafa.com

Plants for home security
 

In reply to Serene Blue ) who wrote
this in , I, Marvo, say :

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?

Burglaris Disembowlis

Really, I've seenit in action. I think the name might be made up, but the
plant is real. Perhaps it /is/ a pyrocanthus. You can google it.

Plants for home security
 

In message , Uncle Marvo
writes
Burglaris Disembowlis

Really, I've seenit in action. I think the name might be made up, but
the plant is real. Perhaps it /is/ a pyrocanthus. You can google it.

Only if you spell it pyracantha ;-)

But yes, it ticks all those boxes: pretty lethal, evergreen, white froth
of blossom in early summer, birds love the berries ...

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

Plants for home security
 

In reply to Klara ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

In message , Uncle Marvo
writes
Burglaris Disembowlis

Really, I've seenit in action. I think the name might be made up, but
the plant is real. Perhaps it /is/ a pyrocanthus. You can google it.

Only if you spell it pyracantha ;-)

But yes, it ticks all those boxes: pretty lethal, evergreen, white
froth of blossom in early summer, birds love the berries ...

I can vouch for the effectiveness of one of those pyrothingies, I scratched
myself on one trying to remove it (for a friend) and ended up on antibiotics
for 14 days. Nasty.

Plants for home security
 

On 15/9/06 10:05, in article , "Uncle Marvo"
wrote:

In reply to Klara ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

In message , Uncle Marvo
writes
Burglaris Disembowlis

Really, I've seenit in action. I think the name might be made up, but
the plant is real. Perhaps it /is/ a pyrocanthus. You can google it.

Only if you spell it pyracantha ;-)

But yes, it ticks all those boxes: pretty lethal, evergreen, white
froth of blossom in early summer, birds love the berries ...

I can vouch for the effectiveness of one of those pyrothingies, I scratched
myself on one trying to remove it (for a friend) and ended up on antibiotics
for 14 days. Nasty.

Holly doesn't like to be argued with, some berberis have spectacular thorns
as do some roses like Rosa rugosa, and depending on location, Grevillea
rosmarinifolia is not good to fight with. Prunus spinosa (Blackthorn) has
the benefit of thorns and sloes.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

Plants for home security
 

Serene Blue writes


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.

Not a climber, but pyracantha can be trained up a wall, is viciously
thorny, grows rapidly, and has berries which aren't the birds first
choice, but will be taken once they've finished the rowans.


--
Kay

Plants for home security
 

I was going to suggest Pyracantha - aka Firethorn - but someone else did.
The plant does very well against walls, is quick growing and will be covered
with white blossom in the spring and orange or red berries at this time of
year.

Pyracantha atalantioides is a vigorous upright/arching evergreen shrub which
will grow higher than your garage roof. It will be covered with red berries
at this time of year. P. coccinea evergreen and bushy will grow to 12 feet
(height and spread) it has bright red berries. P. Orange glow upright dense
evergreen to H 15ft, S 10ft orange berries.

I suggest a combination of red and orange berried plants. They have good
spread and could be planted fairly close together to give an impenetrable
barrier.

Geoff

Hi, I can't help with the evergreen bit, but have you considered rosa rugosa as a barrier? Not only is it the spikiest, most viciously jaggy plant I have ever had the misfortune of trying to prune, but it's really fast growing, produces georgeous flowers and is very wildlife-friendly, as the bees love it and the birds eat from the hips all winter.

I have a hawthorn tree at the front of the house and the roots are pretty thick and sturdy, if not that profuse. I'm not sure about hedges. Good luck!

Bob

Plants for home security
 

P.S.

Pyracantha is easy to propogate from short shoots ripped off a pruned stem
to give a heel. Remove a few lower leaves with a sharp knife, wet the heel,
dip in hormone rooting powder and dib into a small trough containing a
mixture of peat based compost (50% by volume), grit (25%) and vermiculite
(25% ). Put in a dozen or so, label them, keep well watered and stand
back!! I use that mixture for all shrub cuttings - it's ideal for fuchias.

Geoff

Plants for home security
 

In reply to Janet Baraclough ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

The message
from Serene Blue contains
these words:


Hi all,
After the umpteenth burglary at "casa bleu", I need to resort to some
stiff security steps.

Rosa rugosa (large shrub not climber) is fast, tall, tough, thorny,
good wildlife habitat and recovers well from being damaged. You might
also consider some of the berberis family, similar attributes

Hawthorn has hard thorns on older stems but young ones are very soft
and whippy. It will take longer than the above to make an appreciable
barrier (or painful yooftrapper).

Have you considered applying wet-paint somewhere out of your own
way,
on the garage roof? It never dries and intruders get well smeared.

If you want to be really serious, broken glass and nails scattered around
under the hadge tends to deter most amateurs. If it is professionals you
want to keep out, get land mines, a rottweiler, and a gnu. Pikeys will nick
anything from anyone anytime. So don't leave a caravan lying around :-)

Thnx Bob,
I could really do with something that needs minimum upkeep, like cleaning up after fallen leaves and whatnot. I am willing to make an exception in the case of Hawthorn/blackthorn/Gorse in the rear garden, though.

Would apreciate pointers to a non or low-deciduous thorny climber that I could train over the front of the garage and walls.

Plants for home security
 

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Janet Baraclough ) who wrote this
in , I, Marvo, say :

The message
from Serene Blue contains
these words:


Hi all,
After the umpteenth burglary at "casa bleu", I need to resort to some
stiff security steps.


Blackberries did the trick for keeping the local kids from coming over the
fence at a local allotment site. And you get a nice pie :-))

Steve

Plants for home security
 

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
snip
Have you considered applying wet-paint somewhere out of your own
way,
on the garage roof? It never dries and intruders get well smeared.

If you want to be really serious, broken glass and nails scattered around
under the hadge tends to deter most amateurs.


We used the wet-paint (anti vandal paint to give it it's proper name - based
on grease not spirits or water) a couple of houses ago. Trouble is you have
to be careful where you put it. Our next door neighbours delinquent kids
clambered all over our shed roof and fence and apparently ruined their
clothes on it since it is difficult to wash out. Their mother was none too
pleased but there was some ambiguity as to who was liable for the damage. We
didn't pay in the end, but I think if a passer by or someone manages to get
some on their clothing during "legitimate" activity then the home owner may
be liable.

The neighbours delinquent kids then decided to break into the other
neighbours garden shed, smashing a lock and discovered petrol stored there.
You can guess what happened next. By the time the fire brigade arrived there
was no shed left - the fire had also spread to several other buildings at
the bottom of the garden and severely damaged those too. The drunken
layabout father of the children said "It was the neighbours fault - he
shouldn't keep petrol locked in his garden shed!".

After we moved from there to our last property I ringed it with barbed wire
fencing for immediate protection then planted pyrocanthus all through it.
The hedge quickly grew and covered the wire fencing. However, you have to be
careful with barbed wire and anything else that could cause injury such as
broken glass, nails etc especially in a residential area - since again the
home owner is liable for injury caused to anyone. If an innocent child
climbed over such a fence to recover a stray football and injured themselves
then there could be serious repercussions. I think things are different in
France - from what I've read trespassers can be shot on sight! Though I'm
not sure if that just applies to the English!

Here in France we are in the middle of the countryside now, and have no low
life characters living near us. Though I understand there are a few
travellers from Eastern Europe going round nicking garden tools, ornaments
and flower tubs etc and trying to con gullible English residents in various
ways. The boundary is far too big to make secure here though.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

Plants for home security
 

Uncle Marvo wrote:
If you want to be really serious, broken glass and nails scattered around
under the hadge tends to deter most amateurs. If it is professionals you
want to keep out, get land mines, a rottweiler, and a gnu. Pikeys will nick
anything from anyone anytime. So don't leave a caravan lying around :-)

Perhaps it's a very silly reasoning but I always thought that if you
don't seem to be protecting your house like Alcatraz (sp?) then nobody
will be suspicious with thinking you're hiding some big valuables in
there. Broken glass set in walls are most horrid. I don't feel like
inflicting serious injuries to even little scrotes. I've got dogs and
fantastic neighbours and I have never been broken into in this house. I
go on holidays forgetting to even close, not lock, close the door to
the veranda. My cat sitter did it for me, thankfully.

But plants such as hawthorns, holy, pyran and roses are surrounding my
house at every angles. Perhaps that is the real protection - along with
two fearce looking dogs. I have also learn to tell myself that my
possessions are only things and that they can be replaced.