Plant from These Palettes to Protect LA from Fire, Flood and Slide Dangers
By Cassy Aoyagi: The same plants that will create year round vibrance and beauty in your garden can also prevent “natural” disaster. While sustainable landscaping cannot prevent earthquakes, it can alleviate our fire, flood, slide cycles.
When we choose plants ill-adapted to manage the full range of temperatures and rainfall to be expected in Los Angeles, we weaken the resilience our wild spaces. Many plants promoted as drought tolerant are the most dangerous. They succeed well enough to make their way into the mountains where they die off in hot years, leaving fuel for fire. Once fire has destroyed the foliage, our slopes are without roots to protect from slides during rainy season.
As the plants in our fire-resistant and slope-saving palettes have adapted to thrive in every permutation of climate California dishes out, using these palettes will ensure your garden and our wildspaces deliver outstanding beauty not just year-round but year-over-year.
Follow FormLA Landscaping’s board California Fire Resistant Natives on Pinterest. Follow FormLA Landscaping’s board LA Slope Saving Palette on Pinterest.
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