Pyracantha, often called Firethorn (from pur = "fire" + akantha = "thorn") is an evergreen shrub which is excellent for growing against walls. They like to be planted in shade or semi-shade, and grow well against north or east facing walls. Some varieties have bright red glossy berries from late summer which last well into the winter.
Their main feature however is that they have large thorns which makes them rather impregnable; something which can be quite useful in certain circumstances.
Good advice. Electricity is a good way to cull pests. And poison. And who hasn't benefitted from the discharge from two barrels of a 12 bore?
ReplyDeleteI read that crazy story. One of the commenters suggests wiring the chicken wire to the mains and I agree.
ReplyDeleteJust out of interest, are those berries edible?
I have one of these in the front garden and it is guaranteed to draw blood when being pruned.
ReplyDeleteGreat for keeping people out but keeping them in check is not for the faint hearted.
How fast to they grow?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the respective merits of these and e.g. stinging nettles, roses or a few big tubs with those spiky cactus/suculent thingies? There's one of the latter behind my house and I swear that the thing lies in wait, you can only approach it very slowly if you want to chop off one or two of the more vicious spikes.
@JiC All good deterrents I agree, although unfortunately illegal
ReplyDelete@Bucko, the berries are inedible when raw (very bitter) but can be used to make jam etc.
@The Wasp, Indeed my mum had one when I was a kid, I learnt very quickly to keep away
@Mark They are fast growers and require relatively little maintenance.