Security plants

Say a prayer for me dear friends. I am shivering in what the English describe as late summer weather. This means to me cold nights, cold winds in the morning with just occasional warm sun in the late afternoon, and unlike you all, not much rain.

As is my habit I am putting time in my brother’s garden, which once more was open to the public. He’s a bit proud of that. He is now describing it as organic, and by this he means that no chemicals of any kind are used to make the plants grow, or to control or cure pest and disease problems. It’s a hard row to hoe this kind of regime and I don’t envy him at all. I suppose that the only advantage is winter time, when the weather is so cold that all growth stops and all those pests which can live fairly deeply underground survive. However, all the time my mind is at home in Guyana and for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone in their right mind would wish to be anywhere else.

I am always interested to see just how many barrier plants there are in use in or around Georgetown, but I am struck with the amount of barbed-wire fencing there is now in use. I suppose that is due to the habit that people have of keeping valuables at home rather than keeping them in a bank. To those of us who are not beset with such problems and are merely concerned with protecting our plants, there are some highly effective ways of protecting the perimeter of our gardens with live and highly attractive vegetation. The Bougainvillaea is an excellent barrier plant when planted as a hedge around property, or in a group allowed to develop underneath a window or balcony. It needs to be pruned so that its shoots form a thick mass. Once it is established it can be a great deterrent, and can inflict a great deal of pain on the unwanted visitor including the four-legged kind. Initially they should be planted 15” apart so that they grow thickly and are pruned to cut out any straggling growths. They suffer little from pests and diseases.

The prickly pear comes under the heading of ‘wicked’ plants to handle, coming originally from the USA. It is an invasive plant which colonized millions of acres of land in Australia in the 19th century. Introduced to reduce rabbit infestation it forms an impenetrable mass of heavily spined vegetation, the pods of which can root easily if they fall off or are knocked off the plant. A spine penetrating the skin can give pain for many days.

The Crown of Thorns, Euphorbia millii will form an effective low barrier of thorny stems, and one can hope that anyone bent on robbing you wiIl first get its milky latex on their hands and then rub their eyes with it. Much pain and grief. Also many members of the citrus family can be used as hedge plants. A hedge of orange, lime or lemon will cause problems to anyone who tries to get through it. Many of you will know the agave or the century plant, which will give tremendous protection to any sensitive areas such as the bedroom window. Most of these highly attractive plants are infinitely more desirable than barbed wire, and nearly all of them will give protection from grazing animals and visiting dogs.

I expect that now many of the serious importers will have already sent off their orders for poinsettias and other plants used at Christmas time, or will be doing so any day now as they will shortly need to arrive to acclimatise. May your God go with you and take care on our rapidly improving highways.