Zone 0 Added to a space designed for exploration, imagination and storytelling
Located in Glendale, the Veloz garden highlights jaw dropping Verdugo Mountain views. Form Magazine and Outside on HGTV both featured this compelling space soon after its initial renovation in 2009, and the Theodore Payne Foundation included it on the 2010 and 2011 Native Plant Garden Tours. It’s even more lovely now.
Recent renovations have prepared the space for wildfire, upon the request of the homeowners’ insurance agency. Tour its updates to see what changed, what stayed the same, and just how lush and leafy wildfire can look.
Project Snapshots
Beyond the home hardening measures Allstate requested for the Veloz home, they asked for the creation of a 5-foot ember resistant zone around the house.
In the 5 feet closest to the front of the home, most mulch, foliage and combustible furnishings were replaced with ember resistant alternatives. Mid-height foliage and organic mulch were replaced with a waterfall and winding water feature with low-growing riparian plants.
In the back and side gardens, the mix of concrete slaps, gravel and rock steals from this front garden theme. Most Zen Garden side yard foliage already sat outside of Zone 0. There, the artistic mix of gravel and stone provide views and protection for low windows. In back, the application of stone expands the entertainment capacity of the space.
The garage side of the home has always been a practical service path. It flows past elevated foliage retained by a non-combustible wall. A nook in the wall, originally a practical way to keep trash bins available without inhibiting meter access, now feels like a prescient. It may be a home-saving feature – CAL FIRE and IBHS believe bins were one of the top two sources of home ignitions in the LA Fires.
Beyond the immediate area surrounding the home, Allstate made few requests, and the updates reflect aesthetic and lifestyle choices. The family’s valued tree canopy remains on its long term care schedule that prioritizes the health and happiness of each tree.
Much of the garden’s infrastructure remains the same. In areas within 30 feet of the home, metal furnishings have been swapped in for more combustible materials. The homeowners store only umbrella and cushion fabrics on red flag days.
Some areas actually feel more green after the renovation due to the addition of foliage beds against the retaining wall and fill-ins on the hillside.
Want to see more? Learn more from the homeowners’ insights, save ideas | photos in Houzz, and learn about the garden’s easy-breezy tree care.
Plant Palettes
Check out the following palettes if you are also looking to create a clean, modern aesthetic or landscaping a slope.
