I own a weed torch, a wand that takes a small gas cylinder and produces a narrow flame, a another carbon emitter, I know. I am very careful about when and if I use it these days but I learned a valuable lesson with it. Once, when using it to rid a bricked path of weeds the overhanging Lavender caught fire and the speed of the resulting flame was scary. Luckily I always have a hose close by but should have been much more careful around Lavender. The reason; Lavender is one of many plants that produce volatile oils, the oil that gives it that beautiful scent. The oil evaporates around the plant, giving it a protective shield against water loss, as well as being part of the plant. The resulting invisible cloud is very volatile and when ignited moves quickly.

Other volatile oil producing plants are many of the drought resistant plants listed in a previous article but they are mostly aromatic, evergreens such as Pines and Junipers, herbs such a Rosemary and Thyme.

When using these oil producing plants in the garden, it is fire smart to think about how close to your house or structures they are planted. Junipers, Pines and other evergreens are best planted well away from any structures.

Removing the previous year’s dry plant material is also an essential think to do. Dry leaves that were used as mulch can now be put into the compost as can all dried plant material. The compost can be watered to damp everything down and speed up the remaining decomposition.

As we come up to garden planting and wild fire season it is a good thing to do every thing we can do to prevent another disastrous season. The link above is a useful resource. Interior Seed and Fertilizer is on the list of nurseries close to Cranbrook that will label plants and I noticed walking around Top Crop, Nurseryland that many of their plants are now labelled with ‘Fire Smart’. Good to see. It is easy to ask knowledgeable staff at other nurseries about fire smart planting.