Words by Sarah Ansell & Ross Oke. Photos by Ben Simon.

In bushfire prone regions safeguarding your home can extend beyond having the appropriate firefighting equipment. A key aspect of long-term bushfire preparedness can lie in careful selection and placement of plants in your garden. While it’s true that no plant can ever be completely non- flammable, opting for species with low flammability characteristics and maintaining them appropriately can help mitigate the threat.

Here on the Fleurieu Peninsula, several local native plants not only exhibit low flammability characteristics but also contribute to biodiversity, making them ideal choices for fire wise landscaping. Beyond their fire wise qualities, these native plants can play a crucial role in enhancing biodiversity in your garden, providing essential habitat and food for native butterflies, insects, and birds. One important element to note is the flowering seasons of these plants. Selecting plants that flower in different seasons ensures a consistent supply of food and habitat for our native wildlife. Many local native plants are excellent choices for use in amenity landscaping situations.

When purchasing native plants, opt for your local community nursery. Supporting these community ventures ensures you are purchasing local provenance species perfectly suited for our climate, yourmoney stays in our local economy, and you can access free invaluable expert advice absent from some of the bigger retailers.

Second Nature are currently working with Mount Barker District Council to update the popular ‘Sustainable Landscape Design Information Booklet’ to include fire wise information alongside other plant selection criteria and garden design suggestions. To promote low flammability plants and garden design principles, Second Nature is delivering ‘Fire Wise’ community workshops in 2024. If you want to create a resilient garden abundant with biodiversity that stands up to the challenges of our environment, get in touch with Second Nature to register your interest.

The aim of the project is to build the capacity of communities to mitigate bushfire risk through natural resource management initiatives. Other project partners in South Australia include Yankalilla District Council, the Fleurieu Environment Centre, Nature Conservation Society of SA, the SA Seed Conservation Centre, Bio-R and the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board.

This project is supported by Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife and has received grant funding from the Australian Government through the Preparing Australian Communities local stream.