Yep, I have a new favorite plant.

Ever since the Butte Fire destroyed our community a few years ago we have been looking for ways to make our home more fire safe. Our area in the California foothills is prone to wildfires and when one gets going they can be difficult to stop. When they can’t be stopped quickly they become what is known as a campaign fire. In these fires, firefighters go out ahead of the fire and make plans as to which homes they are going to defend and which ones they are not going to defend.

In a wildfire, homes are often triaged, with firefighters deciding which homes have the best chance of being saved.

There are never enough resources to defend them all, so firefighters pick the homes they are most likely to be successful in defending. If a home is surrounded by trees and shrubbery- wildfire fuels- they are likely to label your home as ‘Do Not Defend.’  Folks who get these labels often do not know it, as their house likely burned down. What you want is to get a ‘triage card that encourages crews to defend your home. When the fire approaches these homes, the firefighters take a stand and defend the home. We are more focused than ever to get a good triage rating.

Artemisia provides attractive foliage, repels deer, and adds lots of organic matter to the soil.

So this spring I am removing all the plant material that lies within 10 feet of the house. The shredded cedar bark ground cover will be removed and replaced with some variety of rock. Stuff that won’t burn. I have been digging up these plants and transplanting them to other areas. I remember planting these landscape specimens fifteen or so years ago. It was a lot of work. The soil was compacted clay. The new plants were in one-gallon containers, so the holes I had to dig weren’t very big, but that ground was hard!  But going to dig the by now much larger plants out I was pleasantly surprised. The artemisia came out very easily. The soil was rich and dark, full of worms and organic matter. I had added nothing to the soil here over the years. All of that organic matter that the plant was thriving in had come from the plant itself! It was like magic! I need to figure out a way to move that soil somewhere else before I cover it up with rocks!

This rich soil was compacted clay several years ago when I planted artemisia in it.

We started planting artemisia when our kids were in 4H and my youngest son was raising angora goats. I had read that artemisia, or wormwood as it is also known, was good for keeping goat intestinal parasites at bay. I planted some near the goat barn and quickly learned that the goats did not like to eat artemisia. It was like giving kids medicine. Wait, it WAS giving kids medicine! (See what I did there?) The goats didn’t eat it, but we kept the plants around as a nice filler.

Now it is my favorite plant. (Full disclosure: I adopt a new ‘favorite plant’ nearly weekly.) I planted the artemisia in a hedgerow along the vegetable garden, along with some heavenly bamboo and buddleia. The hedgerow will serve as a home for insects, birds, and lizards, act an a windbreak and repel deer. And the artemisia will work to add all kinds of organic material to the soil over time. My new favorite plant.