With much in the news about wildfires around the world, including in the UK despite our reputation for our damp, wet climate, homeowners concerned about the safety of their properties might want to investigate how fire zone landscaping could be of benefit.
What is fire zone landscaping?
Also known as firescaping or defensible space design, this approach involves arranging hardscaping, building materials and plants in such a way as to protect a building from wildfires through the use of different zones and key design principles.
What are the core defensible space zones for firescaping?
Ember-resistant zone
This is the five feet that extends out from the house foundations. Fireproof this by using non-combustible materials, including concrete, paving slabs, gravel and natural stone.
For planting, consider herbaceous vegetation such as succulents, native wildflowers, foxgloves, native ferns, field grasses, geraniums, hostas and bluebells.
And always make sure that any flammable vegetation is raked up, with overhanging tree branches kept at least ten feet away from the roof of the house.
Intermediate zone
This area extends out from the ember-resistant zone to 30 feet into the garden. Here, consider spacing low-growing and fire-resistant plants carefully, with trees and woody shrubs positioned far away from the eaves of the house.
Don’t let your garden become overgrown and group your planting in such a way as to prevent continuous fueling should a fire break out.
Extended zone
The extended zone covers the area from the end of the intermediate zone out to over 100 feet. Naturally, you may have less control over what happens here but, if possible, thin out trees and large shrubs, with deadwood cleared to prevent fire from spreading.
Aim to maintain a distance of ten feet between different tree tops and remove ladder fuels from the ground up so that fire can’t climb upwards. Space between shrubs and trees can also help prevent fueling at ground level.