Stay Safe this Summer: Landscaping as Security
Most people tend to think of home security and their landscaping as two separate entities, but with the right design and implementation, the two can be one in the same. Looking beyond deadbolts and security systems toward low voltage lighting, landscaped barriers and utilizing natural elements to defend your home can help deter a potential home invader or burglar. While nothing will truly keep out a determined intruder, making their entry as difficult as possible can go a long way toward defending your home and family.
The Best Elements to Deter a Burglar
Rosebushes aren’t just for show – planting thorny bushes under your windows or around the periphery of the yard will keep out burglars and prevent them from scouting out your home from the edge of your property. Juniper, barberry, roses, and holly are all possibilities to help deter unwanted guests. If bushes aren’t your style, climbing roses or firethorn along your fence provide the needed prickly effect without devoting a lot of space to bushes and hedges.
While long stretches of grass look great and give the kids plenty of room to play, it also provides an easy pathway from the border of your property to your home for a quick burglar. Planting edging plants or flower gardens provide a bit of a barrier and can help mask security devices like trip wires and motion detectors and still look great as part of any outdoor area.
If you’re happy with the natural elements you have already, simply adding gravel beneath your windows will provide a noisy patch near your home. Burglars that want to avoid detection will skip that area and if you’re inside, it’ll be easier to hear someone sneaking around the perimeter.
Landscaping “Advantages” to a Would-Be Burglar
Just as you can utilize your landscaping to prevent a home invasion, burglars look for elements of your property to use as an advantage. Privacy fences and overgrown vegetation are a great resource for burglars trying to avoid the gaze of neighbors. Plant life that reaches above your window sills can obfuscate a break in, so keeping them clear will keep them from being a target.
A skilled burglar will always scout out a home before attempting entry and will conceal himself in your natural elements to spy on your home. Keeping your bushes and hedges trimmed and thinned-out will provide a greater chance that a neighbor or member of your household will spot a potential burglar before they’re able to break in.
At Urban Oasis, we design natural spaces and outdoor rooms that don’t just look great – our work is created with function in mind. Whether you need to transform your space into an outdoor paradise or want to feel more secure in your own home, give us a call and book a complimentary consultation with a landscape architect today.