Tides December 5, 2014 E-News

TIDES E-NEWS UPDATE

December 5, 2014

Landscape Spruce Up —We’re busily getting ready for “the season”. The entry and islands have been mulched and the stones steam cleaned. A Jatrophy tree is coming in this week to replace the dead Robolini on the first island. Accolades to our homeowners who mulched, put in or refreshed stones, added plants, added trees, put in some beautiful landscape lights, and even displayed some amazing holiday lights!! 

A number of homes used the new services from Model Row that made the clean up really easy. Others did it themselves (congratulations to you) or had their own gardeners hard at work.  Let’s aim for 100% to have our whole village looking at its best! I included the mulching and stone information at the very bottom of this newsletter for easy reference. We aim to make it as easy as possible so everyone can participate.

The Story on St Augustine Turf —During the wet summer our lawns all look great—everything looks green even the grassy weeds, crab grass or carpet grass which over the years have slowly replaced the real St Augustine. Now that the growing season is over and we’ve treated again for weeds, you can see the real story. Unfortunately sod only lasts about 15 - 20 years before needing some replacement. If you see patchy brown spots where the weeds are dying off, new sod may be needed.  Home and Garden treats for weeds but that won’t eliminate carpet grass/crab grass--that must be dug out and removed. In the spring we will set up a group sod order.     

Reminder-- Garbage, Trash, and Lawn Debris—All garbage and trash bins must be stored inside the garage until 6 P.M on the night before pickup and returned to the garage the next morning after pickup.

 Lawn debris counts as waste, too! Please, please, please do not put any lawn debris out ahead of time. If you cut and trim during the weekend, you must still wait until 6 P.M. Wednesday night to put that lawn debris out on the street. (Seeing debris on the street for days ahead of time is a trashy look that none of us want for the Tides. No garbage on the street, please!)

Thursday Pickup -- Garbage and Lawn Debris

Monday Pickup -- Garbage and Recycling Bins

NO PICKUP ON THANKSGIVING OR CHRISTMAS

(See the NBC Directory page 15 for more details.) 

Landscape Schedule—Weather permitting, Tides is scheduled for lawn mowing on December 11 and December 24.  Detailing of the beds and shrubs is scheduled December 11. 

Tides Web Site—Stuart has been hard at work on this and a draft site is definitely in the works.  Watch for updates!

Spotlight On Our Neighbors – We are happy to report that Rose Goteiner is back at home and recovering very well!  She has great words to say about our local Delray Hospital and the excellent treatment she received there. Congratulations and good wishes!

Time to Inspect and Freshen Up Our Landscape—We are asking every homeowner to check their property for bare ground areas, stumps in need of covering, rocks or mulch that has thinned out around trees, beds with just a few scattered rocks, etc.  It’s time to tidy up your landscape and add mulch, rocks, or lava stones where needed to help better control the weeds and keep moisture in the ground. Let’s get it done before the holiday season!

It makes no sense for us to weed, and then leave the ground bare for the weeds to come roaring back. Some of our homeowners have already done a beautiful job with rocks or with their own mulching, but for many of us, it’s definitely the time to GIVE OUR LANDSCAPE A FRESH AND CLEAN LOOK —CONSIDER IT A COAT OF PAINT FOR YOUR LAWN!! 

New Service to Make Mulching Easier— B+ grade, sterilized mulch delivered and spread by Model Row for $4.00 per bag.  For mulch, just e-mail (nbcbarron@gmail.com) or call me (Nina Barron @ 994-1398), tell me the color (red or brown) and the number of bags of mulch you need, and I’ll consolidate orders OR you can call Robert at Model Row directly at 239-0744 to order mulch for your yard.  He will bill you after the application. 

How much do you need? You can set a limit on the number of bags you want or just specify front yard, back yard or whole house and Model Row will put down what is needed. If you want, they can leave the bags so you can see how many were used. If you are starting with no existing mulch and obvious bare spots, your front yard could need as much as 30 - 40 bags of mulch. It’s unusual for a total house to need more than 50 bags.  (If you need stones, you will need Robert to give you an estimate. Most stones are $8.00 to $12.00 per bag. Lava rocks are available, also.) 

DO NOT USE UNSTERILIZED MULCH—If you are purchasing your own mulch, be sure and check that it is STERILIZED MULCH OF AT LEAST B+ GRADE. Unsterilized mulch can contain spores that cause Ganoderma that kills our Palms!!!! We have lost 3 more Palms this year to Ganoderma and need to be very vigilant that we don’t bring back this dreaded disease to the Tides. 

TIDES HOA CONTRACTED VENDORS 2014

MR Model Row Landscape                      561-239-0744   

G Home and Garden                                561-338-8860

D  Duffy’s   (Trees)                                   561-433-0095

 Note: The Tides has contracted with the above vendors for 2014. Homeowners may contact these vendors and/ or alternate vendors as needed.