Oakmont Garden Club Presents Fire Safe Landscaping
(Photo by John Burgess/Press Democrat)
The Fire Safe Landscape presentation was sponsored by the Oakmont Garden Club and took place at 9 am at the Berger on Tuesday, May 15.
Kate Frey is a world-class garden designer and consultant and an educator and writer. She has 2 columns in the Press Democrat. Kate began her presentation by saying that “a completely fire safe landscape does not exist.” At this presentation, however, she identified how to achieve a ‘fire wise’ landscape around our homes.
Some ‘fire wise’ recommendations are:
- Crucial area to defend against fire = 5-feet around our homes
- Remove dead plants; dead grass/weeds; dead wood
- Remove overhanging tree branches over roof
- Remove or thin highly flammable plants from this area
- Use primarily low flammability plants in this area
- Use low growing trees/shrubs under eves
- Keep plants irrigated
- Widely space plants
- Use low-flammability mulches (gravel, decomposed granite, compost, composted green waste, composted wood chips)
For more information visit the following websites:
The Napa Communities Fire Wise Foundation Defensible Space
Cal Fire
Home Landscaping for Fire UCANR (Publication 8228)
Kate Frey
