Before the fire
Creating a defensive garden: attractive AND a firebreak
A garden can allow a fire to spread to the house — or stop it. The difference comes down to three choices: where where we plant, what where we plant, and how Here’s how to look after them. Here’s the concentric zones method, the plant species to prioritise and those to avoid.
Key points
- Zone 0–10 m: mineral soil and very well maintained — no flammable vegetation adjacent to the house.
- Zone 10–50 m: sparsely spaced trees (crowns 3 m apart), pruned to a height of 2 m, short grass, litter cleared away — this is the zone of theOLD.
- Hedges: broken up; never use cypress or thuja-type conifers as a continuous screen along the flowerbed.
- Choose broad-leaved trees with thick leaves (arbutus, laurel, solitary holm oak, etc.) rather than conifers and oil-rich plants.
- Dry organic mulch (bark) against the façade acts as a wick — use mineral mulch near the walls.
The concentric zones method
Three zones, three levels of restriction — from the strictest near the house to the most relaxed on the outskirts.
Zone 1 — the immediate vicinity (0 to 10 metres)
The ‘sacred’ area. Mineral terraces, gravel, paving, closely mown lawns with a sprinkler system, or low-flame-risk ground cover. No trees whose crowns touch or overhang the roof, no hedges against the walls, no bark mulch against the façade (use pebbles or pozzolan instead). This is where the sparks fall: they must find nothing to ignite.
Zone 2 — the maintained zone (10 to 50 metres)
This is the scope of the compulsory brush-clearing in exposed areas: trees retained but spaced out (2 to 3 metres between crowns), pruned up to 2 metres in height, with shrubs planted in separate clumps rather than in a continuous stand, the grass mown, and litter and dead wood cleared away. The aim is not to create a desert: it is to to break the fuel continuity, horizontal and vertical.
Zone 3 — beyond
The natural vegetation is reclaiming its place. If your land is spreading, there are a few principles that will improve it even further: well-maintained paths that act as barriers, accessible water sources, and coordination with neighbours — a neighbourhood cleared of undergrowth in a chequerboard pattern offers little protection.
Choosing your plants: the issue of flammability
No plant is fireproof, but there is a huge difference between a dry cypress — which burns like a torch — and a well-hydrated arbutus. What makes a plant dangerous: essential oils and resins, fine, dense foliage, dead wood still attached to the stem, and dry conditions.
Preferred (low flammability)
- Shrubs : arbutus, holm oak, mastic tree, filaria, boxwood, oleander (standing alone).
- Trees : solitary, pruned white or green oaks, hackberry, ash, Montpellier maple, well-maintained fruit trees, pruned olive trees.
- Ground cover plants : sedums, gazanias, low-growing, well-watered rockroses, irises, agapanthus.
- Succulents : agaves, aloes — thrive in water, excellent in zone 1.
Keep away from the house
- Coniferous hedge plants : cypress, thuja, Leyland cypress — never planted as a continuous screen on the exposed side.
- Softwood : pine trees (highly flammable pine needles on the ground), cedar trees, fir trees near buildings.
- Rich in oils : eucalyptus, mimosa, rosemary and lavender growing in abundance along the walls, broom.
- Ornamental dried grasses in continuous clumps (pampas grass, etc.).
- Drought-tolerant climbers on the façade (dried ivy, unkempt star jasmine).
Hedges, fences, pergolas : the usual pitfalls
- The hedge continues The path linking the woodland to the house is a firebreak. Break it up (with a 3-metre-wide strip of bare ground every 10 metres) or line it with a wire mesh fence on the side facing the house.
- Plastic fences and privacy screens (PVC slats, tarpaulins) melt and spread — opt instead for bare wire mesh or solid timber raised off the ground.
- Pergolas and trellises : lovely, but not as dried plants on the sunny side of the terrace. A lush, well-tended vine is a sensible choice.
- Compost bin and grass clippings heap : 10 metres from the building — dry compost is fermenting and may spontaneously combust in hot weather.
The interview that changes everything
Annual maintenance of the defensive garden
0 / 6The risk changes every day. So do your reflexes.
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