This is what we believe world-saving spaces look like
Updated January 2026. By Cassy and Kirk Aoyagi. We’ve wrapped our mid-century modern home with a lush, leafy, low water landscape. The naturalistic space, overflowing with hyperlocal and rare California native plants, provides a refuge for family, friends and an abundance of wildlife.
Located a stone’s throw from any fire severity area, we sit a short walk from foothill trails. This is where we walk our talk about fire defense and firefighter protection. We think home first. We balance “hardening” with preservation of our historic, wood-and-window forward structure. Our recent updates include adding a Class A roof, installing rooftop sprinklers. We fix window and door seals as well as other gaps as we see them.
Our space evolves with our engagement of the always-evolving fire science. We’ve made extensive adaptations to the garden so many have used to illustrate fire defensive qualities. Here’s our latest.
Zone 0 Adaptations
We began adapting the 5 feet closest to our home when the Zone 0 legislation first passed. At the moment, it meets the specifications of option 3 under consideration by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Here’s what that looks like and how the space evolved.
As a first step, we slowly pruned established tree canopy to safe distances (5-10 feet) from the siding and roof. With subtle prunes in each of years since, the Hackberry and Coast Live Oak now grow in more productive directions without a sacrifice to their health or canopy. While taken as a fire protection measure, these steps also protect the historic home from termites and wildlife intrusions.
Most recently, in late 2024, we replaced organic mulch in the 5-feet closest to our home with gravel. It matches the permeable patios we added to extend original concrete paths and patios. We keep cushion-free metal furnishings and non-combustible container gardens within five feet. As the original garden design wrapped the areas closest to the home in outdoor living spaces, this did not appreciably change life in the garden.
We kept a few in-ground, irrigated, and well-established, hyper-local native plants within Zone 0, and an expansive Toyon just beyond it. As we review new research on the ways in which healthy, well-hydrated foliage engages with structures in fire, we may recalculate where we find peace of mind.
Behavioral adaptations have been hard. When the initial after-action reports from the January fires spoke to the dangers posed by trash, we began to store trash bins on an ember resistant surface outside of Zone 0. Once always at the ready, we’ve made a practice of returning tools into the garage when not in active use. We park cars at a greater distance from our home.
“We can save the world by planting natives,”
Los Angeles Times, 2019
Cassy said as she offered a walk through the couple’s
lush, natives-filled backyard in Tujunga.
As you watch the birds and butterflies descend
upon the garden’s native flora…
you find yourself nodding in agreement.
Tree Canopy Succession Plan
We often say that landscapes are not living rooms. The hardest part of that simple fact is understanding that, like any Angeleno, even our foliage has a semi-predictable lifespan. To ensure our space stays shady and wildlife supporting, we actively succession-planning for all our trees. Here is how that has played out to date.
When a beloved established Eucalyptus failed, we had a plan. Long before that sad day, we added a Valley Oak and Elderberry nearby. While not in the same space once held by the Eucalyptus, they expanded the garden’s shade and greenery. When the Eucalyptus was completely lost, we planted a young native Sycamore in it’s place.
Project Snapshot
Our back garden serves as our laboratory. It’s an ever-evolving, jubilant celebration of foothill native foliage full of fragrance and life. The California Native Plant Society featured a tour of its’ fire-defensive features in Flora, the organization’s seasonal magazine.
Some of our favorite photos were captured by Lesly Hall Photography in spring when the space was relatively young and just hitting its stride.
Like what you see? Save these photos to your own idea books via the full project gallery in Houzz, where you can also explore and save from our favorite California native plants.
Plant Palettes
Want to create your own fire-defensive, water-sinking, world-saving garden? Check out the plant palette we chose for the Aoyagi Lav, and see more IdealMow Lawn and Meadow options. Save your favorite ideas in Pinterest.
