Firescaping
Learn how to protect your home from wildfires. Firescaping, or firewise landscaping, is the practice of growing and tending the plants around ones home to attempt to keep fires from easily catching in the area directly surrounding the house.Most fires are preceded by fire brands – ashes and debris that float ahead of the fire and set the next area alight. By keeping your property well tended, and by growing plants that are more fire-wise, you have a fighting chance at keeping the fire at bay.
Learn more about firewise plants and landscaping ideas below.
Firesafe garden. A display garden adjacent to a fire station in northern San Diego County illustrates how a garden can be firewise, waterwise, and lush and lovely too. From Designing with Succulents Photo/Illustration: Debra Lee Baldwin-
How-ToChoosing Fire-Resistant Plants in Southern California
Once upon a time, the wildfire season in Southern California lasted for a couple of months in the autumn. Not anymore! Since these days wildfires can hit us at any…
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DesignFirewise Gardening in Southern California
With so many Southern California neighborhoods adjacent to the foothills, it's important to address fire safety in our landscape. Many residents near the foothills are forced to act on clearance…
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DesignFirescaping in Northern California
"Fire season" is a reality for Northern California gardeners beginning in late summer through fall, with fire concerns mounting steadily each year. Wildfires threaten—and sometimes consume—wildlands, farmlands, and homes. Though…
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DesignFirewise Plants for the Mountain West
Those of us who live in the Mountain West know that our forests are filled with large stands of conifers such as Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menzisii, Zones 4–6), ponderosa pines…
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How-ToFirewise Landscaping in the Mountain West
In 2020, wildfires raged across the west, with Colorado having three of the largest wildfires on state record. Just west of where I live in Fort Collins, the largest of…
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How-ToFirewise Landscaping in the Northwest
One thing that we Northwest gardeners need to start thinking about more and more is how to protect our homes from wildfires. Most gardeners in the Northwest have always expected…
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DesignRebuilding a Garden After a Fire
Today’s photos come from Carol Cowee. Her images remind us to cherish the beauty of our gardens and inspire us to rebuild when disaster strikes. This was my garden of…
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How-ToFirescaping: Plants That Help Protect Your Property From Fire
Whether or not a plant will catch on fire, keep a fire going, and then propel a fire is determined by its physical characteristics. Less flammable plants, those considered fire…
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How-ToFirescaping and Wildfire Recovery: An Interview with Douglas Kent
Fine Gardening's Christine Alexander spoke with Douglas Kent this past spring to learn about landscaping tactics that can help protect a home from wildfire and about ways to speed a…
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How-ToSummer’s Here – Colorado’s Burning – Who’s Next?
Do you live in an area vulnerable to fire? If you said, "That's not me; I don't live in the Wild West," think again. Last September, 100,000 acres of northern…
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