?In the Caribbean, we love having plants in our yard even if it is a few crotons in old paint buckets.
Certainly plants enhance the beauty of living spaces and give us a sense of peace and calm.
For some people, tending a garden provides exercise and is a great stress-reliever.
While a beautiful garden can be a joy to relax in and look at, that bountiful plant-filled space can also attract thieves, not just to steal fruits.
Plentiful shrubbery gives intruders hiding places in which to lie in wait and observe activities at home or move across the yard without being seen.
This is not to suggest eliminating all plants around the home as a security measure.
There are, however, some steps that could be taken to allow having a garden while still maintaining security.
Burglars love yards with heavy shrubbery to hide behind so homeowners can follow this simple garden rule: nothing over three feet or under seven feet.
Plants should not exceed three feet in height as such low shrubbery reduces hiding space.
Nothing under seven feet is to indicate that for yard trees, the lowest branches should be at least seven feet above the ground. This makes it difficult to climb.
When heavy shrubbery is a preferred design feature, a clear area should be made around it so intruders have to cross the clear spot. This acts as a deterrent because the intruder risks being seen.
Fruit trees should not be planted next to fences as fruit hanging over encourages thieves to venture inside.
It's very easy to climb over a fence or even use it as an aid to get on trees.
As such, homeowners should also consider planting fruit trees on a central part of the yard.
One design option for fence lines is planting thorny or spiny plants. Thorns provide a barrier to climbing over a fence.
In the Caribbean a frequently used plant for this purpose is bougainvillea.
Bougainvillea grows continuously once placed in the ground and its branches can become very thick and heavy.
Keeping it to a desirable height requires constant pruning.
Next to a chain-link fence, it can sometimes become tangled in the fence, eventually pulling it down.
Next to a wall, however, bougainvillea makes an ideal and attractive deterrent.
Consider other low growing spiny plants as deterrent shrubbery next to a chain-link fence.
Including structured pathways also enhances the appearance of a very large garden.
These paths encourage visitors to wander along them simultaneously discouraging trampling on mannicured lawn areas.
Gravel is an ideal surface material for this path type from a security perspective since walking on it makes a crunching sound to alert that someone is in the yard.
At nighttime a garden takes on a dark, dismal appearance although visually attractive during the day.
Adding lighting to a garden causes its beauty to return in the darkness, becoming an almost magical place.
Decorative lighting not only enhances scenery but improves security, making it difficult for intruders to move around undetected.
To achieve suitable nighttime illumination, automatic timers can be used that turn on lights at pre-set hours.
An increasingly-popular option for this is choosing solar lighting as these draw power from sunlight, saving recurring electricity costs.
Solar lights must therefore be carefully positioned to get direct sunlight for an extended period to stay lit throughout the night.
With proper planning, homeowners can have beautiful, relaxing gardens and at the same time boost security measures to deny intruders places to move around unseen.
The Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety offers a wide range of courses to public and private organisations as well as individuals. Courses are held at scheduled dates and in-house for organisations. Some areas are risk analysis, designing of security systems, supervision and management, technology, as well as, OSH-related programmes, first aid, etc. Contact us at 223-6999, info@caribbeansecurityinstitute.com or www.caribbeansecurityinstitute.com