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© Jennifer Cheung
© Jennifer Cheung
© Jennifer Cheung
© Jennifer Cheung
© Jennifer Cheung
© Jennifer Cheung
© Jennifer Cheung
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How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
By Nan Sterman of Sunset
Getting started
A lush, vibrant landscape is every gardener's aim. But what if you live in the middle of wildfire country?
Great news: In high-risk fire areas, you don't have to change your gardening goals, just the means by which you plan to reach them.
Before this landscape was reimagined, a thick blanket of worn-out junipers covered the slopes; their resinous foliage is potentially dangerous in a firestorm.
Click ahead for fire-wise tips on what to plant, where to plant it and how to keep all of your garden's charm minus the wildfire threat.
- Sunset: 12 great low-water plants
- On our blog, 'Listed': Take steps to protect your home against wildfires
How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
Replace flammable plants
Agaves are great fire-smart plants, and their sculptural shapes make them perfect candidates for bold, contemporary gardens. They tolerate most soils as long as they have good drainage, they need only modest amounts of water and rarely require fertilizer.
- Sunset: More about agaves
- On our blog, 'Listed': Drought makes painted lawns more popular
- MSN Living: 15 simple ways to de-stress
How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
Go lush
Fleshy-leafed (and water-retaining) plants are good choices for fire-wise gardens.
Dotting the poolside landscape pictured here are nearly black aeoniums around a tall tree aloe, plus agaves and a floss silk tree (Ceiba speciosa), whose trunk is studded with water-storing prickles.
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How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
Water, water everything
The more hydrated any plant is, the more fire-resistant it will be. Although the plants in this garden are drought-tolerant, they still need occasional deep watering to keep them from drying out and becoming potential fuel.
- Sunset: 12 great low-water plants
- On our blog, 'Listed': Take steps to protect your home against wildfires
How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
Avoid hanging hazards
Although these trees appear to hug the house — a fire-safety no-no — they don't actually overhang it. They're also spaced well apart, and kept well-watered and pruned.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Drought makes painted lawns more popular
- MSN Living: 15 simple ways to de-stress
How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
Skip the tanbark
In a fire-wise garden, use gravel or decomposed granite — not flammable bark mulch — to cover the bare ground around plants. It also helps keep weeds down and looks better with succulents.
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How to design a wildfire-resistant garden
Keep things simple
Leave space between plantings, which reduces the risk of "fire ladders" — fires that climb to the crowns of nearby trees. Boulders and block walls also help to slow the spread of flames.
- Sunset: 12 great low-water plants
- On our blog, 'Listed': Take steps to protect your home against wildfires
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