What to plant to deter kids and delivery crossing my front garden

FrankC21

Hi,

We live at a corner we don't have a fence at our front yard, no budget. Problem is that kids and delivery people crosses at the side of our house where the wall ends, we have young laurel hedges around as a fence and it really isn't helpful yet. So I am planning to plant some thing that will deter anyone to cross at our side, should be mature enough that either thorny or wide with plenty of leaves in it. 1 or 2 will suffice cause the side is kinda donward sloped so they sort of stepping up.

macraignil

Can't really picture the position you are describing but maybe pyracantha might be worth considering. It has summer flowers and nice colourful berries later in the year and is evergreen and has thorns that are good for making it an effective barrier.

banie01

Landmines

Plant a few and let nature take its course.

Reckless Abandonment

Hawthorn... they'll only try slide past that once..

Mrcaramelchoc

I'm not a gardener but jeez i had to laugh when i saw this. Plants to prevent children crossing your lawn ?
A load of cactus maybe?

Dante

Beartraps also work well.

cruizer101

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

I'm not a gardener but jeez i had to laugh when i saw this. Plants to prevent children crossing your lawn ?
A load of cactus maybe?

Not sure why you find it funny, if kids and delivery men were constantly cutting through my garden I wouldn't be happy about it either.

OP, you could look at making a wire fence cheap enough. All you need is two or three wires going across wrapped around some posts. Won't be the prettiest thing but will stop most people from cutting through and give laurel hedge a chance to grow.

Peregrinus

Blackthorn is cheap, makes a viciously thorny hedge which is cattle- and even goat-proof and therefore certainly child-proof, and lives more or less for ever. It's native, and is a common hedging plant in rural Ireland. Very wildlife-friendly — birds, bees and butterflies love it. Striking white blossoms in February and produces sloes for sloe gin later in the year. What's not to like?

It loses its leaves in the winter, so can look a bit bare. But if that's a problem for you, it does very well as a mixed hedge, so you could plant it with some evergreen shrub that that will give you winter cover.

(Main drawback is that it looks a bit wild and straggly so, if you want the neat suburban trim look, this is not the hedge for you. Also the root system is extensive so, if you wanted a hedge with a flowerbed right next to it, blackthorn would not a great choice.)

RE*AC*TOR

cruizer101 wrote: »

Not sure why you find it funny, if kids and delivery men were constantly cutting through my garden I wouldn't be happy about it either.

OP, you could look at making a wire fence cheap enough. All you need is two or three wires going across wrapped around some posts. Won't be the prettiest thing but will stop most people from cutting through and give laurel hedge a chance to grow.

This, you will make a fence cheaper than trying to plant your way out of this.

Maybe a sign?

TheW1zard

A Ford Fiesta

Mimon

Zeus wrote: »

Beartraps also work well.

Read that first as beertraps. Guess kids don't like to booze as much as slugs :pac:

rolling boh

Wire fence seems a good idea cheap and low maintenance

Wildly Boaring

Funny enough we had a similar issue. We're an end/corner plot. The entire estate used cut the corner through ours and onto our paving.

We just planted 5 or 6 shrubs at the point they used to cross.

They're in a year. I'd say 1 person has tried it

Jim_Hodge

Putting a thorn hedge at a corner is, unfortunately a hazard to people legitimately passing by on the outside. Thorns don't just stab people walking through a bush.

Put some netting along the Laurel hedge or put up a fence.

looksee

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

I'm not a gardener* but jeez i had to laugh when i saw this. Plants to prevent children crossing your lawn ?
A load of cactus maybe?

*You see, there's your problem.


Meanwhile, Buckthorn may be something of an overkill solution for this problem, but don't confuse it with Sea Buckthorn which is a restricted, invasive plant and should not be planted.

taylor3

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

I'm not a gardener but jeez i had to laugh when i saw this. Plants to prevent children crossing your lawn ?
A load of cactus maybe?

I totally can see where the OP is coming from. Where I live in a rural estate we have open plan Gardens but at the same time the boundary is very clear to see by means if a small brick divide between each house/driveway.
I have had delivery guys, people posting leaflets literally walk right across my front sitting room window even at winter dark nights and frighten the ****e outta me. While there is a proper public footpath that is there for a reason.

Last week a boy aged around 10 was standing in my driveway and let his bike fall to the ground inches away from my parked car. Same kid casually strolls across my front window to get his cat, dog, ball and always likes to have a look in through my window not a bother on him.

No manners no common courtesy. They clearly don't see a problem with it. I do.

FrankC21

Other than concern in regards to privacy and trespassing, our front garden is at a downward slope, therefore, when they step onto the garden the soil falls down all over on the footpath. I recently put up log rolls edging, cheap alternative so any soil won't fall down on to the footpath.

I might try that hawthorns.

Don't like the look of a wire fencing seems like a prison.

FrankC21

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Funny enough we had a similar issue. We're an end/corner plot. The entire estate used cut the corner through ours and onto our paving.

We just planted 5 or 6 shrubs at the point they used to cross.

They're in a year. I'd say 1 person has tried it

What sorts of shrubs?

Wildly Boaring

FrankC21 wrote: »

What sorts of shrubs?

Just ones that are green all year.
Not thorny or anything.
Threw a few panseys into the bed too

People are slow to stand into a nice bed
But seem to feel they can just wander across your grass

Jim_Hodge

What you have there is what is described as a Desire Path. You just need something that removes the natural inclination to cut across that corner. Any planting or small fence will do it.

phormium

Purple Berberis looks nice and fits the brief, can be kept trimmed neatly so won't grow too big or wild and you can buy them in pots tall enough to fit your purpose. I used them all around a nasty drop at back of garden to discourage kids from attempting to go through, they stay well away as they are thorny yokes!

_Brian

Pyracantha is what you need, it’s viscous thorns are incredible.

Slow to establish though.

Wait till October onwards and get bareroot Hawthorn or blackthorn. Plant close and make a nice edible hedge

They are also cheap to buy

FrankC21

phormium wrote: »

Purple Berberis looks nice and fits the brief, can be kept trimmed neatly so won't grow too big or wild and you can buy them in pots tall enough to fit your purpose. I used them all around a nasty drop at back of garden to discourage kids from attempting to go through, they stay well away as they are thorny yokes!

Like the look of that purple berberis, and the colour looks very nice goes well with laurel hedge same time it is warning you not to go near. it will fit nice.

tDw6u1bj

Peregrinus wrote: »

Blackthorn is cheap

Anyone who thinks blackthorn is a solution here is both a sadist and a masochist.

There's no need for thorns, any kind of hedge will do.

And you will absolutely regret it when you go to trim the damn thing and have to deal with getting assaulted with an unavoidable mass of needles cutting, stabbing, and lodging themselves in your skin.


(edit: why are people suggesting any kind of thorns? Any hedge/flower bed will stop people walking across the lawn. Thorns are just a PITA for you and a hazard for people walking by)

paul71

Nettles

High voltage electric fence

In fact, don't even need a real one - just a wire and a couple of scary signs should do the trick nicely!

Larbre34

A fence with some pyracantha behind it.

Jim_Hodge

tDw6u1bj wrote: »

Anyone who thinks blackthorn is a solution here is both a sadist and a masochist.

There's no need for thorns, any kind of hedge will do.

And you will absolutely regret it when you go to trim the damn thing and have to deal with getting assaulted with an unavoidable mass of needles cutting, stabbing, and lodging themselves in your skin.


(edit: why are people suggesting any kind of thorns? Any hedge/flower bed will stop people walking across the lawn. Thorns are just a PITA for you and a hazard for people walking by)

I said similar. It just needs something to deter easy access. Any barrier will do. Thorns on to a public footpath is asking for trouble.

spookwoman

Something like this would stop them and not expensive

https://www.homebase.co.uk/triple-arch-finial-fence-section-black/12812572.html

Hocus Focus

banie01 wrote: »

Landmines

Plant a few and let nature take its course.

Bear traps!

Goose berries. Long thorns. And bonus fruit!

Hocus Focus

FrankC21 wrote: »

Other than concern in regards to privacy and trespassing, our front garden is at a downward slope, therefore, when they step onto the garden the soil falls down all over on the footpath. I recently put up log rolls edging, cheap alternative so any soil won't fall down on to the footpath.

I might try that hawthorns.

Don't like the look of a wire fencing seems like a prison.

it only needs to be waist height, as a psychological deterrent.