Pyracantha as a front hedge?

[fleuriepeninsula]

We live in London in a terrace house in Zone 2.

Our front fence is lower (a plain brick wall) than most houses on our street who have bricks plus railings. For some reason, in the last six months, we seem to get all sorts of people sitting on our front fence at all times of day, even really early - we are fairly regularly getting woken up by local kids chatting loudly on our front wall.

I'm very tempted to plant a hedge of pyracantha to deter our fence sitters. Is this TOO anti-social? Is there anything I need to be aware of? They grow fast, have spikes, and suit clay soil - they tick all the boxes for me.

how long is the wall?tbh a set of railings from wickes would not cost a fortune!

Put it this way...we use padded motorcycle gloves when pruning the one that overhangs from next door.!

We have no pillars on either end of the wall, which is about 3m long so it would be fairly difficult to maintain a row of railings. There is a house two doors down who have done this, and kids from time to time push them over.

Is there anything slightly less spiky than Pyracantha that’s evergreen and will grow relatively fast?

Another thing to consider is it’s very water hungry. Our house has a history of subsidence and the surveyor advised us to get rid of the pyracantha in the back garden, which we have done.

Harebellmeadow Blackthorn looks pretty. Is it evergreen?

No, blackthorn is bare in the winter. It flowers very early spring before its leaves come in.

If you're put off pyracantha, someone suggested berberis as a less vicious substitute.

www.waitrosegarden.com/plants/_/berberis-darwinii/classid.299/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwqPDaBRC6ARIsACAf4hA92-mXAHAZWu9CXKTWLHn7L3Pp1ifSwN3hStimPgkhKOQ09iP8vIUaAqMdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CObm2YnowdwCFYdh0wod-iENnA

Again, lots of kinds of berberis, so shop around for one with colours and dimensions to suit.

I like the idea of sea buckthorn, but apparently it can be a bit invasive and naughty with sewers so probably a bad idea!

Ive got a pair outside my front door and nobody's touched them. I keep them quite harshly pruned to shape. I wouldnt have a hedge though. How about a rose hedge? Hedging roses effective as deterrent, pretty thorny, but you could clip it back with shears. Pyracantha gets woody quite quickly and needs hefty pruning with secateurs.

Holly might suit.

Rosa rugosa
Rosa canina