A Thorny Situation

There are few things prettier than the brilliance of bougainvillea shrubs in full bloom, their bright, fanciful blossoms are ornamental as well as eye-catching and a pleasure to behold. They range in colour from red and orange to pink, purple and white, and, when several different hues are planted together, the result is an explosion of beauty. Bougainvillea is drought-resistant and loves the sun, making it the perfect shrub for a garden in the tropics, and Mac happily planted quite a few different types around our home at Belmont. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that, while pretty, the colourful bougainvillea shrubs have a way of protecting themselves in a rather heinous manner!

The branches of the bougainvillea are equipped with some awfully wicked thorns, and I DO mean WICKED! These thorns, which can grow to 2 inches in length, are coated with a toxic substance, and a single prick can lead to a nasty skin rash. I learned the hard way that attempts to prune the bushes could be dangerous; the sharp, pointed thorns can pierce the toughest of gardening gloves, and the resulting wounds are quite painful. I also learned that wearing shoes while pruning didn’t mean my feet were safe, those thorns are able to penetrate the soles of anything except perhaps wooden clogs!  A bougainvillea thorn is no laughing matter if it penetrates the foot; I stepped on one that went straight through my shoe and became imbedded in the ball of my foot, a situation that resulted in an ugly and quite excruciating infection, and since that day I am more than just a little leery about the pretty bougainvillea bushes on our property.

Speaking of property, the vine-like nature of some types of bougainvillea will allow it to crawl up the side of a house, and woe to the home-owner with wooden walls! The sharp thorns will make unsightly scratches, and efforts to tame the colourful yet offending branches can be frustrating as well as painful. The branches can also wreak havoc on a garden if not watched carefully; once it climbs up into and twines itself around other trees it’ll become a pretty-to-look-at yet harmful nuisance. A single bougainvillea thorn was even the cause of a flat tire on our car, proof that they are wickedly strong!

There are few things prettier than the brilliance of bougainvillea bushes in full bloom, but they DO protect themselves in a rather unforgiving manner. I now prefer to appreciate their beauty in someone else’s yard, they’re too much trouble in mine!