Some plants are the kickboxers of the plant world. They arm themselves with a sharp defence we generally refer to as thorns.Planting thorny shrubs and trees around your house does not have to be ...

One of the best hedging plants around, space them around 18 inches (45cm) apart and their thorn-laden stems will gradually form a dense hedge reaching heights up to 6ft (1.82m) if you let them.

The thorny plants do provide a measure of security along a fence or blocking windows. There are a number of newer varieties that offer fewer thorns, and some are listed as thornless.

Variegated plants are naturally less vigorous, and the reverted green branches will invariably grow more quickly and could take over. As for feeding, chicken manure pellets are not easy to use in ...

You can protect the low growth of individual young shrubs cheaply and effectively by making barriers for them: cylinders of 3ft (1m) wide chicken wire (green is less obtrusive than grey-galvanised ...