Claire Patmore
Security is not all about barbed wire and bars. Nature provides a host of natural fences that make a better deterrent then most man made fences…
Picture a climbing rose cascading over a wall, a beautiful site but not much fun to climb over! Bougainvillea too, is a riot of colour most of the year but look closely and you will find a tangle of sharp barbs beneath the lush green leaves.
If a thorny creeper is not suitable, then consider hedging with the indigenous Kei Apple (Dovyalis caffra). It is a rather prickly shrub but looks very good when cut (carefully!) into a neat hedge. A bonus is the female plants produce small apricot like fruits, which are greatly loved by birds and humans alike.
The Num Num (Carissa macrocarpa) makes a dense and thorny but neat shrub. Edible red fruits that are high in Vitamin C follow the sweetly scented star shaped flowers! This dense indigenous shrub is also a favourite nesting site. For a thorny groundcover, try the dwarf form, aptly named ‘Green Carpet’.
There are also many exotic plants, which have thorns, barbs and spikes too. The Firethorn (Pyracantha) have thorns that live up to it’s name. A scratch from one of those and you know all about it. The Hawthorns (Crataegus) might not be thorny but tiny little twigs jut out from the stems and make an impenetrable barrier. Berberis have lovely little thorns and very attractive foliage. Some varieties have purple leaves while others leaves are maroon.
Its not only perimeter walls that need to be secured. Windows can be effectively secured by planting a Cycad alongside. I doubt though that your window washer will be too pleased!
If you have a house that lends itself to Cycads, then plants like Aloes and Yucca will also look good.
Very often these thorny plants make the life of would be intruders very difficult but are a haven for birds and other wildlife that use the natural fortifications to their benefit. Which all goes to show that security really is a thorny issue!
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