Friday, November 16. 2007
Baldwin on Succulents
In a recent email, Debra Lee Baldwin talks about the SoCal fires and the use of succulents in a fire-prone area.
Last week, Suzy Schaefer, owner of the garden on the cover of my book, Designing with Succulents, emailed me, "Succulents saved our home. The fire came within 6 feet of the house, but the garden saved the house from burning."
I went there and saw how wildfire had blackened palms and eucalyptus in the canyon adjacent to the Schaefers' Rancho Santa Fe home and, sadly, consumed a house across the street. A stand of Aloe arborescens had shielded the corner of the Schaefer house closest to the canyon; the plant cooked but did not catch fire.
In the south Escondido community of Del Dios, an area hit hard by wildfire, I saw aloes, agaves, jade, ice plants and prickly pear cactus still green near homes reduced to ashes. And no wonder -- succulents, which by definition are plants with fleshy leaves and stems, are like well-sealed water balloons.
This past week, the Associated Press interviewed me on using succulents for firewise landscaping, and I wrote an article on the subject for the Los Angeles Times.
I'm also pleased to announce that Designing with Succulents, which was released in April, is going into its third printing.
I went there and saw how wildfire had blackened palms and eucalyptus in the canyon adjacent to the Schaefers' Rancho Santa Fe home and, sadly, consumed a house across the street. A stand of Aloe arborescens had shielded the corner of the Schaefer house closest to the canyon; the plant cooked but did not catch fire.
In the south Escondido community of Del Dios, an area hit hard by wildfire, I saw aloes, agaves, jade, ice plants and prickly pear cactus still green near homes reduced to ashes. And no wonder -- succulents, which by definition are plants with fleshy leaves and stems, are like well-sealed water balloons.
This past week, the Associated Press interviewed me on using succulents for firewise landscaping, and I wrote an article on the subject for the Los Angeles Times.
I'm also pleased to announce that Designing with Succulents, which was released in April, is going into its third printing.
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
T-Shirts
