A Smarter Solution to Steep Slopes and Fire Risk: Fungal Solutions In our final newsletter for 2025, we continue our firewise theme offering a new, eco-friendly solution for many of us who own hillside property. You already know the struggles—erosion, thin soils, unstable rocks on the slopes...
Living in the Wildland Urban Interface, I’ve always been aware of the wildfire risk around my home. As our summers get hotter and drier that risk feels more urgent and I realized I couldn't take it on alone. Fire doesn’t stop at property lines. One house...
In my role running a company like Columbine, I often think I should have all the answers, but the fact of the matter is, I don’t. One thing I love about the work we do is that there’s always more to learn. As our understanding...
Choosing the right plants for your firewise landscape goes a long way to increase fire resiliency when combined with the guidelines I’ve detailed in the last 3 articles regarding defensible zones 1, 2, and 3. Firewise means fire resistant, or less flammable. Although some plants...
There are so many opportunities in each of the 3 firewise defensible zones. As I’ve detailed in the previous months’ articles for zone 1 and zone 2, zone 3 has it’s own guidelines that will help you have a beautiful, graceful, and firewise landscape. It’s...
If you haven’t already noticed after reading our last firewise article, my intention is to fill you with hope and inspiration regarding your firewise landscape. I know it is easy to have a rather dour demeanor in regards to the matter, and no wonder, with...
In this third installment of our year-long series on firewise landscaping, we are going to define defensible space and go into some detail on zone 1, the nearest and dearest of the 3 zones. Defensible space refers to the managed area immediately surrounding a home that...
Let’s start from the ground up. I insist that my team refer to what is underfoot as soil, not dirt. It is the basis of life on earth after all, let’s give it some respect. Dirt is something undesirable that we want to get rid of....
What does Firewise Mean & Why is it Important? You can bet fire is on my mind after this dry winter. You can look at the Drought Monitor and see that currently we are on the edge of D1 (Moderate Drought) and D2 (Severe Drought). I...
Drought in our region is the norm, not the exception. With thoughtful planning, it doesn't have to be a calamity. The crux of the planning revolves around fine-tuning your watering. 1. How you water On average we use 5-10 times more water than necessary for a healthy...
Create a wildfire defensible space in your landscape In this year of little rain and too many fires, being fire-wise is as important as ever. Many rural homeowners living in Colorado’s arid environment are particularly vulnerable. Wildfire is a natural phenomenon, but the risk of...
Did you see this article in from 9 February 2022 about bill 1151 Tired of mowing your lawn? Colorado could pay you $2 a square foot to rip it out? As of Earth Day 2022, this bill is still under consideration. Here at Columbine, we think it’s...
Plants – especially the ones chosen for their showy splendor and horticultural prowess - are amazing and beautiful creatures; they come in all sizes, shapes and colors. How are we to begin combining them in the garden so they all look good without getting lost...
Creating Wildfire Defensible Space in Your Landscape In this year of little rain and too many fires as of the writing of this article – hopefully things will change by the time you read it – being fire wise is as important as ever. Living rurally...
