Raspberries can definitely get a bit wild—mine started popping up everywhere after a couple years. Barberry might be a better fit for your formal layout... tidy shape, nice color, and still prickly enough to deter curious pups.
- Interesting point about barberry—I hadn't really considered it before. Does it grow quickly though? I'm looking for something affordable that fills in relatively fast, but won't take over the entire yard.
- I planted raspberries a few years back thinking they'd be a nice edible border... and now they're popping up halfway across my lawn. Definitely underestimated their wandering tendencies.
- Also, how prickly are we talking with barberry? I want to discourage my dog from trampling through, but not looking to turn the garden into a thorny fortress either. My pup's pretty curious but also kinda clumsy—don't wanna deal with vet bills from accidental pokes.
- One thing I've tried recently is lavender bushes. They're affordable at my local nursery, smell great, and supposedly dogs aren't fans of the scent. Jury's still out on effectiveness though; mine seems more confused than deterred so far.
- Has anyone else noticed certain plants working better than others for keeping pets out without breaking the bank or creating extra maintenance headaches? I'm open to experimenting a bit more...
Barberry does fill in fairly quickly, but I'd caution against relying on it too heavily. From personal experience, it can get pretty dense and thorny—maybe not a fortress exactly, but definitely prickly enough to cause some discomfort to a curious pup. I planted some along my fence line, and while it did discourage my dog from wandering through, trimming it back was a bit of a pain (literally).
Lavender's a good thought; I've had mixed results myself. My dog didn't seem bothered by the scent either, unfortunately. Something else you might consider is rosemary bushes—they're affordable, grow relatively fast, and dogs often dislike brushing against their woody texture and strong scent. Plus, it's handy for cooking.
Just a heads-up about rosemary though: if your winters get really cold, you'll want to pick a sheltered spot or be prepared to replace them occasionally. Mine survived moderate winters fine but struggled in harsher freezes. Still, they're low-maintenance otherwise and haven't spread invasively like raspberries tend to do... learned that one the hard way too.
I tried rosemary too, and it worked pretty well at first. My dog definitely wasn't a fan of brushing past it, but after a harsh winter, half my bushes didn't bounce back. Ended up switching to dwarf junipers—dense enough to discourage wandering paws, hardy through cold snaps, and trimming them isn't nearly as prickly as barberry. Plus, they look tidy year-round without much fuss... just my two cents from trial and error.
Dwarf junipers are a solid choice. Had a similar issue with rosemary myself—worked great until we had a brutal ice storm two winters back. Lost most of the bushes, and the dog's curiosity came right back. Ended up going with boxwoods instead; dense enough to deter exploring paws, and they've held up pretty well. Sounds like you've found a good balance though... gardening's always a bit of trial and error, isn't it?
