Landscape Contract
Our landscape maintenance contract with Yellowstone has been renewed. The contract has been revised to exclude Westside Boulevard. The city has assumed responsibility for Westside. All the HOA trees and plants have been, or will be, removed during the reconstruction of Westside Boulevard. The city will plant trees and other vegetation in the center median. The HOA was told that we would have input on what the city will plant.
The Yellowstone new work schedule will be as noted below:
Growing season
March through October three-week cycle.
Week 1 Both sides Seven Bar
Week 2 Both sides Sierrita
Week 3 All the trails
Non-growing season
November through February four-week cycle.
Week 1 West side of Seven Bar to include the trails
Week 2 East side of Seven Bar to include the trails
Week 3 West side of Sierrita to include the trails
Week 4 East Side of Sierrita to include the trail
Landscape Projects
The following landscape projects were approved by the Board last year but were not implemented by Yellowstone due to labor shortages and/or unavailable planting materials. Projects will be reevaluated for implementation this year:
| 2021 cost | 2022 estimate | |
| Proposal #132483 7 new plantings identified in April/May 2021 plus 2 warranty replacement plantings one of which is a tree (Chinese Pistache on Sierrita) | $2,848.17 | $3,200.00 |
| Proposal # 132494 Remove dead Mesa Glow Maple killed by borers and replace with a Lacebark elm. Plant a 15-gallon Thornless Cockspur [Hawthorne] on Sierrita near a pear infected with blight. Hawthorne will eventually replace pear. | $1,446.55 | $1,600.00 |
| Proposal #136635 Replace dead juniper on north side of Leno with 5 new 5-gallon junipers. Remove/replace 3 bubblers irrigating 3 ash trees with multiport emitters to eliminate water going into the street. | $8,776.00 | $9,700.00 |
| Proposal #151514 Irrigation repair/replacement on west side of Sierrita | $3,839.81 | $4,300.00 |
Landscape planning
The Sierrita “Add Color” was a test project implemented last spring that placed perennial flowers, dwarf bushes and smaller trees in the available Sierrita planting spaces. The test plantings were placed along both sides of Sierrita from the intersection with Seven Bar to the second light pole as you proceed north on Sierrita. Yellowstone identified seven planting sites — two on the west side and five on the east side. Planting sites on the west side are more limited in this section of Sierrita.
Vegetation planted included:
1 small tree, a 2″ caliper Chinese Pistache — bright red fall foliage
8 dwarf butterfly bushes — 2-gallon sized
3 Buzz Raspberry — reddish purple flowers
5 Buzz Midnight — dark purple flowers
19 perennial flowers — 1 and 2-gallon sized plants:
5 Plumbago ground cover — blue
4 Lyrical Blue Salvia — blue
4 Burgundy Gaillardia — red
4 Moonshine Yarrow — yellow
2 Firepower Nandina — red foliage
The Sierrita project plantings will be reviewed in May and those that did not survive the winter will be replaced.
The ongoing effort to remove and replace dead and dying trees will continue with several trees along Seven Bar being removed and replaced with a variety of different tree species. By diversifying the variety of trees, we reduce the chance of the trees all being impacted by some insect or disease infestation such as the Fire Blight that is now hitting our Bradford Pears. We hope to be able to plant one or two varieties of oak this year.
The Landscape Committee will meet with our Yellowstone account manager, Beth Adams, to review all plantings that Yellowstone has done on the property. Our contract is written such that all the trees and shrubs/bushes that Yellowstone plants are guaranteed for as long as they are providing our landscape maintenance. Each May we review the plantings and identify any plants under warranty that need to be replaced at no cost to the HOA.
The east and west flowerbeds were cleaned on April 4 and are ready for spring. The water has been turned on and they are now being irrigated daily. Last spring several perennial plants and two crape myrtle bushes were added to each flowerbed. As they mature, they will fill in some of the empty spaces and add additional color to the beds.
Irrigation
The original irrigation system was installed over 25-years ago. The irrigation lines [3/4” poly] were replaced over a 3-year period (2010 – 2012]). However, the valves and controls are original and several may have to be replaced this spring to ensure the system continues to function.