Summer is full swing and 4th of July is right around the corner. I would like to touch base on some the changes and progress the property has made from the grounds and horticultural stand point. We have had some weather challenges that started us off on the wrong horticultural foot. However, Mother Nature has given us some more agreeable weather for growing condition to date.
1) Mulching is now complete-
2) As of 6-28 ornamental pruning is in full production
3) Work orders have been addressed and a plan is in place with timings to complete the rest- For example
a) A topsoil and seeding list/proposal is being generated based on unit requests/work orders as well as identified common areas that need to be repaired. This list will be examined by the board and when the weather is advantageous ( late august/early September) top soil and seed will take place as conditions allow
b) There are some work orders for shrubs to be removed- this process will happen in conjunction with the pruning process- we are identifying plants that are stressed or overgrown to be removed that would better serve the community in the long term- If a plant that has been identified to be removed within the 4 feet of your unit- it will be tagged with red ribbon and you will be contacted by me (Mike Hodges) before it is removed to discuss the reasons why and to talk about replacement if there is a need. If you are on the no touch list nothing will be done! On that note, we did not have a comprehensive no touch /no mulch list this spring. This created some delays because some residents decided they wanted the service after we were complete in those areas. Going forward for next season, if you have not made arrangements to be put on the no touch/no mulch list prior to our starting services, your unit will be scheduled for service!
c) The rear hill is still a work in progress- wood chip are being delivered this week and ongoing maintenance is continuous- this area is lagging behind due to the mulching, pruning, and weed applications that are taking place. We are tackling the grounds from an entirely new philosophy this year. Large scale changes, as well as culture changes are sometimes difficult to implement as well as understand. I encourage residence to continue to come to the Thursday meeting to get face to face answers to any questions.
We are starting to see some of the efforts of these changes come to fruition. The south entrance lawn is filling in nicely, we have less weeds on the whole on the property as in past years (continued applications and hand weeding are ongoing throughout the summer). Due to the hybrid granular application on the lawn this year as well as Mother Nature giving us some recent agreeable weather the lawn areas are the best they have been in years.
The process is ongoing and changes and adjustments are being implemented. As the saying goes “ Rome was not built in a day” we at West Side will continue to invest all the effort we can to see that it gets there as quickly as possible
Michael Hodges
West Side Landscaping LLC