WHY???!!!! Why would anyone plant these things?

[Anonymous]

We bought a house last year. Didn't really notice the landscaping, except the size of the yard, deck, etc, etc. What can I say, we were tired of house hunting and as long as the bones of the house was good, we didn't sweat the small stuff. And landscaping is not something that was on my radar.

It was not until this year that I realized EVERY thing planted in this yard is spiky/thorny/painful. We have two huge holly bushes on either side of the front door. A row of barberry bushes flank the front walk. The trees/shrubs are evergreen. I don't know if it's spruce or fir or whatever, but when the dried needles fall, they become super sharp and it's like having sewing needles scattered all over our yard. All our visitors brave scratches and pokes every time they ring the front door. I have to wade through the barberry thorns to turn on the nozzle for the hose. When I trim the bushes, picking up the scraps require super duper leather gloves but we always manage to get pricked regardless.

It just makes me so mad every time I do yard work. WHY? WHY does everything in my yard hurt me?

So my more knowledgable gardeners -- is there a plus side to having these? Are these native plants that are good in some small way? Or is it just that these things are cheap and fast growing?

[Anonymous]

Just commiserating that we spent, including a patio and tree trimming and over a hundred plants, about $10,000 on our yard the first year in our house. And we're not done.

It's ok to rip things out and start over.

[Anonymous]

Its cheaper than a moat.

[Anonymous]

Deer problem?

[Anonymous]

Buy long gardening gloves and long loppers. The plant choices are good to ward off deer.

[Anonymous]

Get rid of them if they bother you that much.

[Anonymous]

Deer or burglars. Other than those two jobs, all spiky plants SUCK!!!!

I hate Holly with a passion hard to explain. I tear it out at any opportunity. Get rid of it!

[Anonymous]

I have often heard the suggestion of thorny plants or plants with sharp leaves (like Holly) are smart by your doors and windows. Evidently they keep robbers at bay.

[Anonymous]

Previous owners were clearly paranoid.

Rip everything out.

[Anonymous]

I really dislike holly - I know it's native, grows well here, etc., but I don't think it's an attractive plant at all. So of course, we bought a house with a giant holly tree in the yard - turns out it's the most valuable plant on our property. We've kept it because I just can't see tearing it out, and it provides food for birds. But when a landscaper recommended planting more holly, I vetoed that option.

We did rip out some evergreen plants that had become ugly and overgrown.

On the other hand, I love barberry - it's a beautiful plant - I just try not to brush up against it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you so much for giving me a place to vent. Every time I do yardwork, I get so mad and wonder, Why?!

I would love to get rid of the holly and barberries. The 2 holly bushes are huge, with 6 inch trunks. They are more like trees. It will be really hard to get rid of. The barberries are big too. One day, I will redo it all. For now, I just aggressively prune to try to stunt the growth. It's not working!

[Anonymous]

We have one of these stupid bushes in front of our house. I hate it just as much, plus my two kids scream every time they touch it. It's not even pretty to look at.

[Anonymous]

on the flip side, we had zero evergreens in our garden and during the winter our front yard looks so empty and sad. I'm glad we have added in some aboravitae, and two different kinds of holly!

[Anonymous]

We had some overgrown hollies taken out, and two enormous evergreen shrubs. I don't recall the exact price but it was far less than I was expecting and didn't take long. They lopped off the big branches, chain sawed the trunk and dug up the root.

[Anonymous]

yeah because burglars never wear gloves or thick clothing or shoes.