2010 April
2010 March Vol. 8 No. 4
Focus on...Landscaping/Lawns
Your Great Outdoors
As today’s homeowners forego vacations – and long for a getaway without actually going away –the idea of creating that retreat outside the back door is gaining popularity. “People are looking for a place they can enjoy, and not feel that their neighbors
are in their space,” says Ellin Hanlon, APLD, owner of Bright Ideas Garden Design in Groton,
Massachusetts.
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Botanic Garden Branches Out
The bulldozers are clanging and tradesmen are busy pounding away, but in a few
short months peace and quiet will return to Tower Hill Botanic Garden in
Boylston, Massachusetts.
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Harvesting H2O
“Rainwater collection systems (e.g., cisterns, underground tanks, ponds) can significantly reduce or completely eliminate the amount of potable waterused for irrigation,” said Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington. “Rainwater can be collected from roofs, plazas, and paved areas and then filtered by a combination of graded screens and paper filters to prepare it for irrigation.” Read More
Come Prepared to Learn at the Condo Expo!
The New England Condo Expo on May 12th at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston is more than just a great place to
meet condominium professionals and network with community association leaders– it’s also a tremendous opportunity to learn more about running a successful
community.
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Enlivening your Landscape
Few capital improvements bolster property values as effectively as landscaping
upgrades. “It’s astonishing what redoing the landscape will do to the sales and turnaround
time at a condominium,” reports landscape designer Thomas Wilhelm, APLD, of Wilhelm Landscape Design in
Boston. And installing plantings better suited to your property’s ecosystem, including new hybrids specially developed to require less upkeep, can pay off handsomely
in reduced monthly maintenance costs for years to come.
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Landscaping Harmony
The most common method of maintaining a landscape has typically been: “mow, apply a generous and regular supply of man-made fertilizers and pesticides
to prevent weeds, water and repeat.” But just because it’s the most widespread doesn’t mean it’s the healthiest process for the lawn, the condominium owners and the
environment.
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Special TREE-tment
The trees that grace the outdoor spaces at most community properties provide
untold value. But have your lovely spring-flowering pear trees lost branches
this winter? Are those once-trim blue spruces suddenly blocking the entryway signs?
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Essex, Connecticut
Nestled just off the Long Island Sound halfway between New York City and Boston,
Essex is a colonial hamlet resting on the banks of the Connecticut River.
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Q&A: Board Ignores Delinquency of Fellow Member
Last year, a board member discovered other directors have allowed our association secretary to be 10 months delinquent in his assessments. No action was taken. Other unit owners have been in the collection process for the same violation. After this problem was disclosed, the incumbent board members decided not to run in the next election. Read More
