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| THE COLONY NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2022 | 9 Colony landscape terms, unwrapped! Are you confused as to what is considered your front yard? A planter? A tree well? Boulder? Stone mulch? Hardscape? Front yard: This is the area from the curb to your front gate (if you have one), or your side gate (if you don't have one). It includes turf, hardscape, plants, trees. Planter: If your front yard has dirt with plants in it (not grass), that area is considered your "planter." Certain items may be in your planter, such as trees, shrubs, plants, and mulch which covers the dirt. The mulch may be of ground-up wood or stones. Stones, such as river rocks (2"-3" in size) or smaller stones, are known as stone mulch and can be placed in the front yards between the sidewalk and the side of the house, but never next to turf. Stone mulch may only be applied by the landscape contractor, but residents may purchase the stones elsewhere and have them approved by the Landscape Department before being installed. The wood mulch is provided by the landscape contractor. No outside purchase of wood mulch is allowed. Decorative artifacts: These are manufactured items, such as pinwheels, birdhouses, statues, pots, and other such decorative artifacts. They may not be placed anywhere in front yards, on the hardscape, or be hanging from trees. No items are allowed in tree wells. One fabric "welcome" flag may be placed in the planter area, but no more than one to a home. Holiday decorations are the exception and are subject to other rules as to how long they may be up. Do these rules apply to items on walls or pylons or attached to the house? No. If it's in the dirt, it applies to Landscape. If it's on the house, walls, or gates, it's Architecture. SPECIAL ALERT: We all know that during holidays we need to remove the decoration extension cords and other items which might interfere with the Landscape teams' work on those days they are in your front yard. But this concern is also current. Please be sure any cables, hoses and other items which may interfere with the contractors (pruning team, especially) are fastened securely to the home or tucked out of the way in your planters. This is the homeowner's responsibility to keep clear. Nobody wants the irritation and expense of damage and repair. Boulders: These are natural rocks 6"-18" in height. They may be placed in front yards, but no more than six to a home. They are to remain in a natural state and not painted. Street tree vs planter tree: If the tree is growing in the turf in your front or side yard, it's considered a street tree. Every lot must have a street tree unless the lot is too small or the electrical boxes, utility vaults, etc., are in the way. Planter trees are those in the dirt of the planter. These trees are optional. On some streets, the builder incorporated the street trees into the design of the planters, leaving essentially too little turf to add a street tree. These streets have been identified and these homeowners are not required to add another tree. During our survey of lots without street trees, we also identified the few lots which should have a street tree but don't for some reason. We have notified the homeowners that this needs to be remedied. Tree wells: This is the ground area around your street tree which is devoid of turf. This is done to allow more irrigation water to sink directly into the tree roots and not compete with the grass. Hardscape: Any hard surface, such as cement, paver stones, sidewalks, etc., is hardscape. IRRIGATION UPDATE: Please be aware that various water districts serve all of Murrieta in addition to our two. Each has different water restrictions, some different from what governs our two water districts. We are vigilant to keep up with new rules which apply to our category. Note: Colony News articles are written a month ahead of publication. The water rules change often enough that what we write here may have changed by the time you read the article. The best source of current irrigation practices here is The Colony Landscape Department. HERBICIDE CLARIFICATION: Ranger Pro is not sprayed on lawns. It is only used in a spot-shot fashion on weeds in the sidewalk and planters. DEAD OR MISSING PLANTS: If you see dead or missing plants as you are out walking, please know that all the areas in The Colony were assessed by the LAC representatives this past Spring. The information was compiled by our Landscape Department and sent to the Landscape contractor for pricing. The resulting information was sent on to the HOA Board, which approved replacement plants/ trees. However, due to the decreased water and high temperatures this summer, ordering and planting these items are being deferred until cooler weather this fall. Please be patient. In closing, we are always looking for new applicants to volunteer for our committee! Please call me if you think you would be interested. LANDSCAPE ADVISORY By Jan Foster, 951-698-0170

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