Welcome to the world of commercial transitional landscaping in the middle of Texas heat!
Spending $33,000 annually for three color changes no longer made sense with inflation, water restrictions, and common sense. While we all loved the colors of the annual flowers, the Kings Ridge board of directors believed it was time to tighten our belts and make some changes that would be attractive, and yet not so costly as Kings Ridge nears its 25th anniversary.
As a Kings Ridge neighbor, you may be asking, “Why is all this taking so long?” “When will it be complete, and when will the Kings Manor landscaping beds look better?”
While a major renovation is exciting, it is also an exercise in patience, problem solving the unexpected, working with people in multiple companies and dealing with nature itself. The Kings Ridge community is nearly 25 years old and the irrigation system breaks consistently from wear and tear.
Sometimes, we experience small breaks, and other times, like this summer at Grand Hollow, a waterfall and flood due to a main water line break on a weekend, no doubt, created problems.
Renovating nine high profile entrances (exterior and interior) is a major undertaking and it is a process that was never intended to be completed in one spring/summer.
Besides breaks in the irrigation system, severe water deprivation of shrubs in the backs of beds, our neighborhood experienced the theft of several lantana plants and the demolition of a bed by a landscaper dumping old mulch onto the bed of lantana. Theft, you ask? Yes, theft, and more than once. So, just when is the right time to replace those plants so that they are not fresh fodder for the next thief?
Here’s a rundown of summer landscaping activities in common areas of Kings Ridge:
- Tree trimming began in April and will continue with a multi-year program which will address massive overgrowth
- French drains were installed at the south pond to enable safer walking conditions around the sidewalk
- Drains at Luxborough will be cleaned out to avoid more flooding
- A retaining wall repair on Cannon Falls was repaired in August
- A survey of perimeter walls is taking place to plan for future repairs
- The Luxborough entrance renovation will be taking place soon
- We’re addressing an area of the neighborhood that experiences severe flooding
- We’re also addressing the north end of the McKamy median; planted lantana in the bed to bring consistency and simplicity while we wait until next year for budget and a consistent elevation, boulder placement, etc. look to conform with the whole entrance that applies Xeriscaping techniques that require far less irrigation and maintenance
- Establishing a baseline in the landscape beds with lantana and purple heart
- Staining of the south pond pergola was completed
- The four entrance towers at the Round Springs and McKamy as well as the Luxborough entrance were painted and lighting issues repaired
We all have the same goal to achieve an attractive neighborhood that meets the standard of a twice earned City of Plano Platinum level BEST Neighborhood honor.
Are we making progress? Absolutely, yes, and more improvements will continue weekly that enhance the overall appearance and operational efficiency of Kings Ridge.
Thank you to our landscaping chair and board member Lisa Williams for spearheading many of the common area landscaping efforts!
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