The 9 Best Plants For Security To Deter Intruders

We all want to keep our homes safe. Securing your property is a necessary precaution, but some systems are costly, and too many barriers, security lights or cameras can make it feel like a fortress. Nature, however, can play an important role in keeping your home secure, even boosting its kerb appeal in the process.

“There are plenty of reasons to fill your garden with plants, but carefully chosen species are an effective, discreet way of preventing break-ins,” says Everest ambassador, chartered horticulturalist David Domoney. “Plants act as a natural barrier, creating privacy and deterring even the most hardened of intruders. Spikes and thorns don’t have to be ugly or hostile either. The prickliest plants can be the most spectacular.”

Why use plants for home security?

The best home security is layered, combining security technology like alarms and lighting with natural measures which can act as a deterrent for intruders. 

Plants are a cost-effective way to combine with other measures to do this. Not only can prickly shrubs, hedges and bushes add aesthetic appeal to your property, but they also provide a natural, non-intrusive layer of security. Thick, thorny shrubs are popular choices for this, many of which will liven up your garden year-round. 

Plants can be used as an alternative to more costly fences and walls, or they can complement them as a security feature. Spiky hedges or climbing plants, for example, are often used around the boundaries of a garden as a natural barrier. Taller plants make it more difficult for intruders to see your property, whilst spikes and thorns will discourage attempts to break in. Prickly climbers or shrubs can be planted at the base of a fence or a wall, making them harder to scale.

Plants can also help to secure potential entry points, like side entrances to your property or ground floor windows. Low, thorny shrubs are often planted below windows and drainpipes, for example, while adding trellises with spiky climbing plants around side entrances can help to disguise them and put off burglars. Planting hedges and shrubs around pathways can also act as a deterrent. 

While it’s a good idea to plant tall, dense shrubs around your side and rear boundaries, the police recommend keeping lower hedges and walls at the front, giving potential intruders nowhere to hide from the road.

The best plants for security in UK gardens

Whether you favour thick, thorny hedgerows or scrambling plants with colourful flowers, here are 10 of the best plants for security. 

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Often used in hedging, hawthorn has dense, thorny branches, which erupt with small white or pink flowers in the spring. They’re followed by vibrant red berries, known as “haws”, in the autumn and winter.

Native to the UK, hawthorn is deciduous, meaning that it will shed its leaves in autumn and regrow them in spring.

“Hawthorn’s sharp, thick growth produces a fantastic natural barrier for your home, but it has other advantages too,” says Domoney. “Its spring flowers are said to mark the changing of the seasons, and it’s very wildlife-friendly, particularly for roosting birds.”

Firethorn (Pyracantha)

Named after its vibrant, fire-coloured berries which emerge in autumn and winter, firethorn has glossy, evergreen leaves which grow on sharp, spiny branches. It can be grown as a shrub or hedge, or trained on a support. Its thorns, capable of cutting and scratching, act as a deterrent for intruders, while its dense growth is difficult to penetrate, but it’s very popular with nesting birds.

Berberis (Barberry)

Versatile berberis comes in a range of shapes, sizes and colours, as well as in both deciduous and evergreen forms. Most have toothed leaves, with sharp thorns on their stems. Not only will these help to put off burglars, but they’re a deterrent for pests too.

“Some varieties of berberis are like living barbed wire,” says Domoney. “Only it’s much more beautiful, producing masses of flowers in the spring. It’s a great way to brighten, and secure, your borders.”

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), for example, has vibrant, autumnal-coloured foliage, yielding small yellow flowers in spring and bright red berries later in the year. These cultivars grow best in full sun. 

Others, like Darwin’s barberry (Berberis darwinii), are evergreen, with glossy leaves and small, buttery flowers which grow in clusters during the spring. In the autumn, they will produce little blue or black berries. 

Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

“Traditionally, bringing holly stems into the home was said to bring good luck and protection,” says Domoney. “That’s true, and not just in the symbolic sense. Holly’s green, spiny leaves and dense foliage are a fantastic choice for keeping your home secure. It’s also wonderful for wildlife like insects, birds and butterflies.”

Beyond Ilex aquifolium, there are dozens of holly varieties to experiment with, from ‘Argentea Marginata’, with its cream-coloured edges. Most hollies are easy to grow, tolerating different aspects and levels of sunlight. They can be left to grow wild or clipped into neat hedges. And, there are the extra spikey leaves of Ilex Ferrox.

Wild rose (Rosa rugosa)

Known for their large, fragrant pink flowers, the wild rose is particularly tough, resilient and easy to grow. Wild roses’ stems bear strong thorns, making them a good choice for thick, impenetrable hedging. Once their flowers have bloomed, vibrant, tomato-like rose hips will follow. 

Rosa rugosa are vigorous shrubs, so prune yours late in the summer to keep it under control. 

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

So-called for its dark bark, blackthorn is a shrub which grows long, sharp thorns from its stems. It can grow to up to seven metres and live for up to 100 years. Left to its own devices, it will develop into a small tree. 

Blackthorn’s dense foliage makes it a popular choice for a hedgerow, but it also provides year-round interest. Look out for tiny white flowers in spring and blue-black berries, called sloes, in the autumn. 

 Osmanthus 

Holly-like osmanthus is a hardy, evergreen shrub with glossy, prickly leaves. There are around 30 different species, of which Osmanthus heterophyllus and Osmanthus delavayi for example, are often selected for hedging, borders or screening. 

Heterophyllus has spiny, serrated-edged green leaves which are flecked with white, bearing small flowers in the summer and autumn. Delavayi is prized for its fragrant white flowers, which are succeeded by blue or black fruits.

Osmanthus’ dense evergreen foliage, which can also be trimmed into shapes, make it an effective plant for screening your home. It will grow in almost any garden with little maintenance, and should only be pruned when required.

Gorse

“Gorse conjures romantic images of wind-swept cliffs and wild heathland, because this is where it’s often found. This resilient, spiny shrub can bring some of its drama to your home, as well as protecting it,” says Domoney.

Gorse is distinctive for its sharp, needle-like spines, which grow instead of leaves, and its sunny, coconut-scented yellow flowers. Its thick, almost impenetrable foliage and thorns are great for wildlife, but a real deterrent for potential intruders, making it an excellent natural barrier for your house.

Gorse is not fussy: it can thrive in many different growing conditions, whether exposed or sheltered; north or south-facing. Its main requirements are poor, sandy or acidic soil, and plenty of sun. 

Gooseberry bushes

It’s the berries themselves that usually draw us to the gooseberry bush, but the plant’s sharp, thorned stems can also help to prevent break-ins. Gooseberry bushes can be planted at the base of a wall or fence, in a border, or as an added layer of protection for pathways and potential entry points. They are vigorous, easy to grow and thrive in a sunny spot. 

Get ready to pick your gooseberries around July, when they can be turned into tasty preserves, chutneys or desserts. Prune annually to maximise your harvest.

Tips for using security plants effectively

Thorny plants could deter a burglary from happening, using them to add different layers of friction and difficulty to entering a property uninvited.

If you have walls or fences around your back garden, planting thorny shrubs in front of them or scrambling plants against them will make them harder to scale. The same goes for a back gate, where adding a hoop or trellis full of prickly climbers will make it more difficult to climb, as well as adding aesthetic appeal.

For your rear garden, look for high, thick-growing and spiky plants like holly or berberis, which will help to prevent people from being able to see into your property and are difficult to penetrate. In your front garden, on the other hand, opt for lower plants, like a gooseberry bush, which makes it harder for burglars to avoid detection. 

Having a gravel driveway or path will also prevent intruders from going undetected. The crunchy sound is difficult to avoid for any visitors.

Home security is best seen as a layered system of defences which, when used together, make your property harder to break into, and a less appealing target for burglars. The more friction, the more likely they are to move on.

Combine your defensive planting with other deterrents like a security light, alarms and secure doors and windows.

Don’t forget to take other precautions: keep your garden shed locked, and avoid leaving tools or valuables lying around. On warm days, don’t leave ground floor windows or doors left open while you’re not there.

Maintenance and safety considerations

Intruders won’t want to get cut and scratched by your thorny plants and neither do you. Wear gloves and protective clothing when handling or pruning them, and warn your children not to touch the plants or, in some cases, eat their fruit. Some plants’ berries, like firethorn or holly, are toxic to both people and pets if ingested. If possible, try to avoid planting them where children or pets play unattended.

Pruning is good practice for most of these plants. It will help to keep them neat, healthy and will encourage the growth of flowers and berries. In your front garden, regular trimming will also prevent your bushes from becoming too tall. Usually, the best time to prune is in late winter or early spring, before the new growth begins. But with flowering plants, prune them after they have bloomed.