In light of this Summer's amazingly oppressive heat and the city's new watering restrictions, I would like to suggest that the H.O.A. should suspend sending violations for lawns that are in less-than-stellar condition. This is not to say that things be unkempt but rather that a struggling lawn in this heat is nothing to be punished for. I would argue, on the contrary, that none of us should have a lush, fully verdant lawn. At this point I feel that we should only be concerned with making it to the next growing season; doing the absolute minimum to keep things alive.
We can, then, next Spring, use this opportunity to look more critically at what we are planting and what we expect in our gardens. Perhaps, a look at more native and adapted plants, xeriscaping, etc. is needed and recognize that our beloved tropicals and St. Augustine grass are quite possibly not the best idea in Central Texas.
I do know that a lawn can still survive and be mostly green in this heat only being watered once a week, but we have to ask if this is the best use of our water? If not, then citations should be kept to an absolute minimum.
Nick Martin
Makes perfect sense. Instead of violations, how about some suggestions being sent out as to how we can zero-scape our lawns and keep the HOA happy. The answer always seems to be send in your plans for someone to rule on, well how about first letting me know what you think would be acceptable and I can start from there.
I completely disagree....I have followed the cities watering guidelines all year long....I have also put in both the time and effort to maintain my lawn and landscaping as to ensure that we are maintaining our community and protecting our property value....I would like to see more families in our community do the same....Watering once per week using a hose end sprinkler and watering by hand throughout the week on dry spots will keep your lawn both alive and in many regards lush....Installing some rain water collection units and removing lawn and replacing with native or semi native plants and trees is a must....I am no green thumb....If I can do this with a little time and sweat everyone can do this with a little time and sweat...
I also disagree about suspending lawn violations. It almost seems that people are deliberately using this hot and dry spell to completely not do any up keep on their yards. You can replace many plants in your existing beds with xeriscape/drought tolerant plants and water once a week and still have a nice green yard. It's not fair that we who put in hard work and sweat to have a nice yard have to listen to people who don't want to do any work complain because they get a violation for a dead yard. As for suggestions for maintaining your yard, do you read the newsletter? Or the city paper. Both have been giving advice for three months on how to keep a nice yard in this type of weather. Or better yet, go on-line. Be proactive!
I also disagree; I have been following the water restriction all summer and only watering my lawn once a week and it is alive and doing well while my renter neighbors have not invested any time or money on their lawns which are now dirt with a sprinkling of weeds. It is very disheartening to my family, since whether we like it or not, or neighbors home upkeep is a direct reflect on our property. We need more accountability from our HOA leaders, instead of thinking about laxing the rules they should be helping (suggesting) us to figure out xeriscape/drought tolerant plants that would not only help to beautify the subdivision but save money and resources.
I can understand how some leniency could be allowed during a drought, but it needs to be well outlined, fair, and across the board. I don't agree with no violations though. HOA is there to help maintain quality of neighborhood and property values. Any neighboring house that causes another house to be lowered in value is unacceptable, so I appreciate a structured and low tolerance HOA. That is a big reason I chose this neighborhood.
I agree with some above maintaining a yard doesn't have to be as difficult as some make it out to be. I took over a foreclosure and had to re-sod the yard, which is not cheap. Letting your yard go just to start over is not cheap and very labor intensive. Properly caring for your lawn with water, mowing and fertilizer can help during droughts. Most of what I see throughout the neighbor is improper care of their laws, mowing to short, not watering deep enough, never fertilizing, etc.
I have emailed the President and Vice President and proposed a workshop day 1-2 times per year. Someone from a lawn and garden store or another lawn and garden expert and can come to our neighbor and do a short 1 hour workshop on how to properly care for you lawn. This would be a free service as they could plug their products and or services while everyone gets advice.
Like the idea of a workshop, I never claimed to have green fingers, and would certainly find any advise useful.