Category: Landscaping

Choosing fire-resistant landscaping plants is key in wildfire-prone areas. Learn the best trees, shrubs, ground covers, and flowers for a wildfire-ready yard.

If you live in a wildfire-prone area, you can create fire-resistant landscaping by creating defensible zones that spread outward from your house.

Choose the best types of ornamental grasses for your landscape based on your yard’s conditions:
• Northern seas oats and Japanese forest grass for shade
• Blue oat grass and Mexican feather grass for sunny, dry spots
• Switchgrass for privacy screens
Cool-season varieties emerge early in the spring, warm-season grasses have dramatic colors, while evergreen types like black mondo grass provide year-round structure.

To cut back ornamental grasses, tie the bundle of grass with twine or rope; then use a hedge trimmer to cut the stems. Trim leftover jagged stalks with pruning shears to give the clump a neat shape. Dispose of the debris in the waste bin or add to your compost.

Here’s how to care for ornamental grasses to keep them gorgeous with minimum effort:
• Cut back and divide the grasses in the spring.
• Water and control weeds and pests during summer.
• Leave the plants alone in fall and winter unless you need to winterize them.
Read all about ornamental grass care exceptions, problems, and solutions in our guide.

Some of the benefits of xeriscaping your yard include water conservation, increased biodiversity, reduced water costs, less lawn maintenance, and an increase in property value.

The best time to cut back ornamental grasses is typically in the spring, when new shoots grow, but are not yet so tall that you’d clip their tips when cutting. Late fall and winter are also good options for some grass types and local climates.

Wind-resistant trees have deep, extensive roots and flexible wood that bends under wind pressure instead of breaking, such as:
• Canary Island date palm
• Live oak
• Crape myrtle
• American beech
• Bald cypress

There are several ways to get rid of standing water, such as improving surface drainage and soil structure, installing French drains, and watering wisely. Learn all about them in this guide.

With so many types of mulch, such as wood chips, bark, cardboard, gravel, and rubber, it can be confusing to choose among them. We’ll help you understand each type so you can choose the right one for your landscape.