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| THE COLONY NEWS | AUGUST 2023 | 15 Which plants do well here? Are you new to the area and wondering which plants do well in this climate? e Landscape Advisory Committee has assembled a list of plants approved for front yards, and another list for the greenbelts. We also have lists of "Approved Front Yard Street Trees" and another of "Wild Belt/Green Belt Trees." All sets include photos of the plants with mature height/width dimensions and are available at the Landscape Department in the Clubhouse. e front yard plant selection has mostly small to medium sizes, while the greenbelt selection has mostly larger plants. All plants are part of the drought-tolerant, Mediterranean palette. Over the years, the LAC Plant Subcommittee has refined the selection, deleting those which haven't withstood the test of time and climate change, while frequently adding newer varieties we've seen working elsewhere. e same process has been done with the tree lists by the Tree Subcommittee. Staff can also be helpful about which plants the rabbits and gophers destroy, and whether you live in areas where these are a problem. ey can also advise you about trees to avoid planting near house foundations and offer other useful information. Why don't we include native plants? Mainly, these plants don't provide the color Colonists prefer. ey are oen sprawling and grow to be unwieldy. ey are not harvested in the wild and take a long time to grow to the size we typically buy, so they are more expensive and not available commercially in the quantities that we need to purchase. Also, because they require so little irrigation, they oen drown when mixed in with the other Mediterranean-style plants used here. Why do we have "approved" lists? e lists are because these plants/trees create "e Colony Look," which may have been part of the reason you chose to live here. If you don't like your front yard plantings, you can have them changed, using any of the approved front yard plants. It would be at your expense, but you can change them. Contact the Landscape Department for details. What about the gardens "behind the gate," meaning your back yards? ere you can let your creative flag fly! e HOA plant palette rules only apply to front and side yards in front of the "gate," wherever yours happens to be. Behind the gate is yours to plan, plant and maintain. If you choose, you can use the "approved" lists to help find plants at local nurseries, but you're not required to. Just remember to keep any foliage from spilling over your neighbor's fence or into the greenbelts. As I wrote this in early July, we are wrestling with the front yard problems, mainly the turf situation, but also of plants identified during spring area walks as needing replacement, and greenbelt turf renovation. e Board is siing through the budget and prioritizing work accordingly. It is nothing any take lightly, I can assure you. On July 12 the LAC conducted its annual "tree walk with the arborist." If you saw a flotilla of golf carts and individuals walking up your street and inspecting the trees, that's what it was. e inspection is for tree diseases, pruning suggestions, assessment of trees leaning, and recommendations from the arborist from Environmental Concepts. It is also an education for LAC members to learn what's happening with our trees. We currently have openings on the Landscape Advisory Committee. ere is no end to the landscape issues a community faces. If you would like to volunteer, or just want information as to what would be involved, please call Karl Gerlach at 714-746-5902. LANDSCAPE ADVISORY By Jan Foster, 951-698-0170 On behalf of the Library Committee, I would like to thank all of you who donate to our library. As I see all the books, both hard cover and paperback, which are donations from Colony residents, I am truly amazed. We have fact, fiction, and nonfiction books available on such a wide variety of subjects. Due to limited space, we can only accept books with a copyright date of 2015 and newer. We operate on the honor system, so no formal checkout is required. You may take home three or four books that you can read in a reasonable time. Once read, please return them promptly, making them available for others to enjoy. ere is usually a picture puzzle in process on the table which you are all welcome to participate in, or if you prefer, you may take one home to work on. In addition, we have DVD movies, books on tape, etc., and the most recent two months of a variety of magazines, all of which are available for you to borrow. We do appreciate donations of magazines, but we receive an abundance of catalogs, advertisements and maps, so we must limit periodicals to magazines only. ank you and happy reading. LIBRARY By Janet Baasch

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