Dangers that lurk in your landscape

WASHINGTON - Most people consider gardens and landscapes fairly safe spaces except for the patches of poison ivy you weren't paying attention to or the tick habitats here and there. But the landscape can be dangerous.

Here are some safe practices:

Don't place large shrubs or tall walls in your line of vision where seeing pedestrians is necessary. Plan for visibility when pulling out to the street from your driveway. Keep clear lines of vision for several hundred feet where you intersect thoroughfares. If you want to screen your property, design walls or screening shrubs so that your car is past them before you reach the sidewalk or street.

Texture on walking surfaces must provide traction even when wet. Concrete can have a broom finish for traction; brick and flagstone should have a rough texture. Most concrete pavers available at home improvement and garden centers have a rough finish for good traction.

Illuminate walking surfaces. Very low lights, 15 or 20 watts, aimed onto paving and not directed at your eyes, will offer visibility without ruining the ambiance.

Steps are one of the trickiest landscape elements to negotiate, usually because they are incorrectly designed. They should not be built too steeply. We have a different gait outdoors, and stairs should be more expansive to accommodate that. The absolute maximum riser height (vertical rise) per step should be six inches, and the tread size (stepping surface) should never be less than 14 inches.

Illuminate steps from above, and never have just a single step in your landscape. Design professionals call this a "trip step." A flight of stairs in your garden shouldn't have more than 10 steps without a landing. A 31- to 32-inch high railing should be installed along steps.

All water features demand additional attention regarding outdoor safety. A person can drown in a small amount of water, and children are particularly attracted to it. Make sure you locate ponds or swimming pools in a place where people are not likely to stumble or wander in when you aren't there.

Lighting water entails another set of safety considerations. Mixing electricity and water can be dangerous. Be sure to use only UL-approved equipment. The installer's electrician usually wires swimming pool lights directly into a 110-volt line. Install recessed lighting fixtures in swimming pools. Place grills or grates over the fixtures so debris and swimmers do not damage them.

Even though low voltage is safe to work with, install your wire connections outside the water whenever possible. Another warning for water gardeners is to not use copper lights underwater because their copper sulfate corrosion is toxic to fish.

Given the high consciousness today for the safe use of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals, look for bio-rational alternatives that are safer and more environmentally friendly than many synthetic materials. Remember, they're still chemicals. If you're applying them yourself, you'll want two sprayers to avoid damaging your plants. Use one for total brush killers (non-selective herbicides), and another for lawn weed killers, fertilizers and insecticides.

Fireproof your mulch if there's any chance that people will toss cigarette butts or matches into it. Good, aged moist mulch will not ignite, but parched, poorly composted bark or shredded wood can catch fire.

When you do your own maintenance, be careful. Keep fingers out of the way of pruners. Use gloves for pruning and handling logs, rocks and prickly plants. Wear sturdy shoes and long pants for digging, sawing, mowing and using power equipment.

Also:

• Trees that grow tall should never be planted near power lines.

• Never trim a tree that is growing near a power line. Consult a professional.

• Don't plant trees near power poles. They may slow or interfere with restoration of power in an outage.

• Never carry or pull a power tool by its cord. Don't overload a circuit with too many tools. In a damp or wet area, always plug tools into a GFCI receptacle. Don't leave power tools running unattended. Store them in a dry location.