29
Feb
2016
By Calvin at 14:07 GMT, 9 years ago
Last week our very old Viburnum plicatum shrub gave up the ghost and collapsed in a very large heap acros our garden. The old chap had rotted at the foot of its large trunk and had simply split apart during a night of strong winds. We were away at the time, but my neighbour was woken up by the large crash at about five in the morning. Fortunately it fell into our garden and so the neighbour’s fence was spared any damage that might otherwise have occurred. When I’d cleared the devastation away I noticed for the first time the big gap now left between the still standing shrubs and how much that Viburnum had been helping to secure that particular part of the perimeter. My neighbour doesn’t like high fences and so now an intruder in her garden can simply hop over the fence into mine.
So what to do....
Well, as a temporary measure I’ve decided to erect a couple of fence posts on my side of the existing fence and run a length of timber trellis in between. I’ll then use the trellis to hold a new fast growing climbing rose (growing from 1.2 metres to 2 metres) and at the same time I shall plant a new shrub to replace the Viburnum (Don’t know what just yet). The rose should act as an effective prickly defence measure while I’m waiting for the new shrub to mature and spread to fill the gap.
Using defensive plants is a tried and tested way of improving a garden’s fence against intrusion with all the additional benefits (colour, scent, birds, butterflies etc) that an attractive plant can bring.
See more about garden boundaries, fences and defensive plants http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/preventing-crime-in-the-garden-outbuildings-and-garage/492/garden-boundaries-fences-and-defensive-plants/
