Living with the risk of bushfires is part and parcel of an Australian summer. But, as recent history proves, it’s not just the rural areas that are threatened during the fire season. The leafy urban fringes of our cities are also at risk. 

To counteract this threat, many homeowners believe that clearing vegetation is the only way to protect their properties against fire. But this contradicts the very reason people choose to live in the leafy green belt in the first place.

Luckily, a great garden and living in the bushfire zone are not mutually exclusive. In fact a well-designed garden is an important tool to help protect your property against fire.

After the Black Saturday fires in 2009, the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) established guidelines to help residents design gardens that minimise the effect of bushfire on a property. 

Luckily, there’s lots of scope within the guidelines for creating an attractive garden retreat.

How does great garden design help in a bushfire?

A well-designed garden can:

• Reduce the amount of radiant heat on a house; 
• Reduce the chances of direct flames reaching the house;
• Reduce the wind speed around a house; 
• Deflect and filter embers and will reduce flammable materials within the garden.

How to design your bushfire-proof garden

The basic aim of a bushfire-proof garden is to keep the area around the house (and carports, garages and sheds) free of flammable materials. There are four principles to consider when designing your garden:

1. Create defendable space;
2. Remove flammable objects from around the house;
3. Break up fuel continuity;
4. Carefully select, locate and maintain trees.

An example of a bushfire-proof garden from the CFA.

1. Create defendable space

Think of your garden as a firebreak between the house and the bushfire zone. This doesn’t mean you need to completely clear the land, but it does involve careful design and regular maintenance.

For example, position lawns, pools and tennis courts close to the house. Use features such as stone walls to provide barriers to wind, radiant heat and embers, and use driveways and pathways to separate vegetation from the house.

There are two zones within this defendable space. The Inner Zone – immediately around the house – and the Outer Zone . Here are some recommendations for these zones. 

The Inner Zone

• No flammable objects such as plants, mulch or fences located within 10m of the vulnerable parts of a building such as decks, windows and eaves;
• No overhanging trees;
• Grass should be no more than 5cm high. Leaf litter should be cleared regularly;
• Trees should not be planted with an understorey of shrubs;
• Plants taller than 10cm should not be placed directly in front of glass windows;
• There should be a 2m separation between the canopies of trees.

The Outer Zone

• Grass kept at no more that 10cm high;
• Shrubs should not form a continuous canopy;
• Any tree branches lower than 2m from ground level should be removed;
• There should be no more than 30% canopy cover, with few shrubs in the understorey;
• Shrubs should be in clumps no bigger than 10m2, and separated from each other by at least 10 metres.

2. Remove flammable objects from around the house

The Inner Zone (10m boundary around the house) should be clear of anything potentially combustible, including vegetation, sheds, caravans, outdoor furniture, barbeques, gas bottles, wood piles and mulch. 

3. Break up fuel continuity

To avoid fire spreading quickly, it’s important to create separation between plants, garden beds and tree canopies. You can do this by separating garden beds with areas of grass, pathways or driveways.

To prevent flames getting into the canopies of trees, remove any shrubs under trees and remove any branches lower than 2m from the ground.

Fruit trees such as this peach tree can provide a “green shield” to help protect your property from fire.

4. Carefully select and maintain trees

Just because some trees have a bad reputation, doesn’t mean all trees pose a fire hazard. A carefully selected tree can act like a green shield – while providing a windbreak, absorb radiant heat and protect your house from embers. However, it’s important to keep trees well maintained with dead leaves, branches and bark removed, and be sure they are planted at a safe distance from the house, and away from shrubs, power lines, and driveways.

Avoid planting Cypress, Pines and Eucalypts. Other trees carry so much moisture that they actually act as a fire retardant and can slow down the passage of a fire, and reduce the amount of embers. Fruit trees, Magnolias, Cercis and Lillypilys are just some of the trees that can offer protection and reduce the radiant heat around a house. Talk to your local nursery about other plants and trees that are low flammable, and suitable for your region.

While nothing can guarantee that your property will be safe in a bushfire, using these design principles will reduce the flammable area around your house, and give you a better chance at saving your property.

If you want to find out how you can transform your garden to help protect your home, talk to a garden design expert. Or visit your local nursery for advice about trees and shrubs that are suitable to plant in your part of Australia.