Page 8 - New England Condominium April 2019

8 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM - APRIL 2019 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM W hether a community is sur- rounded by suburbs or big-city high-rises, a little greenery can go a long way in adding visual appeal – and value. In fact, given the lack of space and the challenge of keeping plants healthy and thriving, urban gardening is perhaps even more valuable. Many community associations tend garden plots of varying shapes and sizes, whether they are on roofs, in backyards, or dispersed throughout sprawling townhome developments. And while it may seem sim- ple to plant a few shrubs and leave it at that, the cultivation of a garden actually requires the participation of several different factions who must band together to reach an aesthet- ic consensus and plan how to take care of the project throughout the year, in good weather and bad. If your association is considering a garden project – or just looking for tips on how to maintain an existing one – manage- ment professionals across several regions of- fer some sage advice that may be helpful. Taking Charge An early step in any community garden project is deciding who will assume the re- sponsibility for organizing and planning. Like any project, this will likely depend on the shape and size of the association. “With smaller buildings, the board typi- cally handles the logistics,” says Bart Steele, a portfolio manager with Barkan Manage- ment Company, Inc., in Boston. “In the larger buildings that I’ve managed, there are separate committees that often handle the gardening decisions.” Management should also be heavily in- volved. “In my experience, landscaping is of- ten left to the managers,” says Janice Avery, a property manager with FirstService Residen- tial in Chicago. “Sometimes there are com- mittees or board members who chime in and help with some decisions, but that interest can wane, leaving the man- ager with the responsibility. In my current community, I’m fortunate that the board takes a very active interest in the planning, decision mak- ing, and maintenance of the property’s appearance. Our community has won awards for beautification, and pass- ers-by often stop to take pictures with our lush land- scaping. Landscaping is not an inexpensive budget item, and the more the commu- nity is involved, the better maintained the property.” “In my established asso- ciations, there are garden or landscape committees that tend to be very hands on,” says Natalie Fries, a com- munity manager with Asso- cia Mid-Atlantic in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. “One association that I managed had a farmer/arborist on the board who knew a lot about flowers and plants, and that community was absolutely beautiful.” While a community coming together to pitch in on a garden or landscaping project is a heartwarming image, more affluent associations (or those whose residents are just really busy) can potentially outsource the whole thing, and then sit back to admire the final product. “It’s always best to hire a third-party con- tractor,” says Susan Fitzpatrick, Director of Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Residences New York, Westchester. “It removes liability from the association, as landscaping requires tools and equipment that can lead to injury. Everything we do at Ritz-Carlton is ‘best in class,’ so for us, we always use a third-party landscaper. Anytime you’re utilizing more than light tools, or are using chemicals like fertilizer or weed killer, you should use a pro- fessional. “That said, there can be light work on the premises, and residents may enjoy hav- ing a stake in the planting of the property,” Fitzpatrick continues. “If you have light tools and a light job, you can always involve the community – especially retirees – with a weekend planting. Supply some shovels, mulch, and a design plan. Have volunteers do light trimming, mulching, and planting. Make sure to use caution around potentially buried gas lines, and be careful with children and tools – have them plant flowers or small trees which they can watch grow over the years. And offer some food: cookies, lem- onade, bags of chips and water to give to the volunteers as they work.” Tight Spaces Much of the above assumes that asso- ciations have lawns, or at least plots of open ground in which they can plant. But for some communities, space is at a premium, and they may need to get more creative in order to introduce a greener element to their property. “My last community had space con- straints,” says Avery. “The property was beneath an elevated train intersection, so natural sunlight was a real problem. In addi- tion, the City of Chicago installed oversized concrete planters, but didn’t actually plant anything in them. There were eight or 10 of these planters, and the property was not served well by leaving them empty, so as the manager, I was able to obtain a small bud- get for landscaping after showing the com- munity this missed opportunity. Using this budget, I hired a landscaper who delighted our community with holiday plantings, and wowed us with plants that flourished in the shade and flowered despite pedestrian traf- fic. On our rooftop, there was little room for containers, so we had seating constructed to include planter beds and planted ornamental grasses to beautify the roof deck.” Boxes and planters are indeed a potential fix for associations that want to add some plant life but don’t have much in the way of available fertile soil. “When we’ve had space issues, we’d have a landscaper add flowers and planters to add color where you could not otherwise grow anything,” says Steele. “Rooftop gardens and plantings are also great, as they get lots of sun – but they do need to be watered frequently, which can be difficult if there’s no ready roof water access. But I find that plants and flowers in urban settings add a lot of value and curb appeal among the otherwise brick-and-concrete jungle.” Planning and Maintaining a Community Garden Planting Value BY MIKE ODENTHAL ISTOCKPHOTO.COM LANDSCAPING, LAWN CARE & CURB APPEAL continued on page 18