Plant & Protect

Done right, landscaping can keep your house safe and reduce energy bills. Here's how.

By Jeff Inman

Everyone wants a yard that looks as if it were plucked from the cover of a magazine. Lush flowers and billowing shade trees. Well-formed privacy hedges. A place that looks like a resort for the rich and famous -- in your backyard.

But all those plants, from that massive oak tickling the side of your house to the dry prairie grasses next to the garage, could be as hazardous as they are beautiful. Shrubs that are too close to a fire hydrant could make it difficult for firefighters to get hoses to your house. Ornamental trees just outside the bay window could come in uninvited during the next ice storm.

With a little planning, however, your landscape can work for you, providing curb appeal along with energy efficiency and safety. "You just need to be smart about what and where you plant things," says Penelope O'Sullivan, author of The Homeowner's Complete Tree and Shrub Handbook. Here's all the dirt on planting, pruning, placement, and more.

Get Natural Air-Conditioning
Regions affected: All
The math is simple: "It can be nine degrees cooler under a tree," says Roger Gettig, the land conservation manager for Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio. In the summer that can make a big difference, especially if it's your house relaxing in the shade. Deciduous trees -- those that lose their leaves during winter -- planted to the southeast and southwest can cast a shadow over the house during the morning and afternoon, seriously cutting the heat a house absorbs. "Well-placed trees can block up to 80 percent of the radiant heat from the sun," Gettig says.

His only caveat: Put those trees too close and, come that first wind or ice storm, you might have a problem. "It's all about balance," he says. Consider the tree's mature size, and plant it well away from the house. As it grows, it will spread out and cast a larger shadow.

Reduce Wildfire Threats
Regions affected: The Southwest
All it takes is one ember to start a mighty wildfire. In 2006 alone there were a record 96,385 wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Wildfires can tear through secluded canyons and suburban areas alike, leaving nothing but mounds of ash in their wake.

According to Lili Singer, a horticulturist and the special project coordinator for the California-based Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, a lot of those houses didn't need to burn. But they did because of poor planting. "The bottom line is that you need to reduce the volume of things that will burn in your yard," she says. "When you reduce the number of things that will ignite, you reduce the chances that your house will burn."

The best way to do this: Give homes in fire-prone areas a buffer. The general rule requires a 30-foot zone around the house free of trees and shrubs -- that is, the things that send flames and embers flying into the air. Ideally, you'd balance patios made from stone and brick, which will keep ground fires away, with native plants, which are more fire-resistant than transplanted materials.

"Research has shown that native plants are the last to go up," Singer says. In places like California and the dry Southwest, that means succulents -- even the aromatic, oil-producing kind -- will at least slow down the flames. Even well-watered turf grass can help, though if there's a water shortage in the area, it can quickly turn into a problem.

Another fire-wise approach is to create an open landscape design. "If you plan your yard and have your trees and shrubs spaced widely and trimmed up high to look like lollipops, it will go a long way toward saving your house," Singer says. Good advice, whether or not you live in wildfire country.

Keep the Basement Dry
Regions affected: All
There's one certainty about water: It follows the path of least resistance. "About 90 percent of keeping the water away is making sure your house is graded well," O'Sullivan says. Make sure the dirt around your foundation slopes away from the house and toward the yard, whisking water away. Water-gulping flowers and grasses planted near your house drink up the excess.

Block Energy-Sucking Cold Wind
Regions affected: Northern states
Come January in the northern states, the wind feels like it's full of crushed ice. The cold air seeps through windows, and heating bills climb. But according to Gettig, it only takes a few well-placed trees to reduce the impact. Planting a windbreak can reduce the biting cold and your heating bill.

"Planting evergreen trees on the northwest side of your house can save you up to 25 percent on your energy costs during winter," Gettig says. "And planting on three sides of the house -- the north, east, and west -- can save you up to 40 percent in a windy climate."

Those are serious numbers. But constructing a windbreak requires more than a few pine trees. According to Gettig, the most successful windbreaks have four stages. Ground-hugging shrubs are placed farthest from the house, followed by larger bushes, deciduous trees, and then evergreens. This multitiered wedge, placed twice as far from the house as the height of the largest mature tree, deflects the wind over the house, diminishing the effect of the windchill. "This won't work for everyone," he says. "In the city you might only have room for two stages, but it will still help."

Avoid Ice Damage
Regions affected: All but extreme South
It looked like the North Pole had exploded over Norman, Oklahoma. Last year's massive ice storm devastated the city. Trees collapsed under an inch of ice that downed power lines, crushed cars, and left gaping holes in houses -- something that could have been prevented. "You have to make sure that branches are always trimmed up and away from your house," O'Sullivan says.

That's simple enough. But O'Sullivan says you can reduce your risk of falling branches years before you need your chain saw. "Choose a tree with strong branch attachments," she says. That means picking trees with branches at wide (not narrow) angles to the trunk. Those branches have stronger connections to the trunk, can support more weight, and are less susceptible to rot or disease in their crotches. Good picks will vary by region, but O'Sullivan favors native white oak (Quercus alba) in the East and fire-resistant Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) in the West. "People are attached to big, old trees next to their houses, but you have to be practical too," she says. "A huge tree with heavy branches near your house could be trouble."

Banish Furry Friends
Regions affected: All
Critters can be cute -- until they eat your landscaping or make themselves at home in an attic. When that happens, most folks quickly turn to poisons or traps. Jim Connelley, owner of Marshall Grain Co., an organic gardening store in Texas, has a different idea: Keep unwanted animals away with organic repellents. To banish squirrels (they can damage insulation if they get inside a house and chew on electrical wires), use a product with capsaicin, an ingredient in chili peppers. Have a deer problem? Try a deer blocker made with putrescent eggs, capsaicin, and garlic. Or put out urine from predators such as foxes or coyotes; small amounts won't offend people. Says Connelley, "There's usually a way to do things organically so you're not harming animals."

Landscaping solutions vary by region. Consult an expert about the challenges of your local environment, whatever they may be.

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