Planting Trees to reduce grass cutting

JosephW1: This may sound like an excellent way to trim down the landscaping costs; however, you would have to plant a heck of a lot of trees to make it worthwhile. Seems to me you would have to take whole areas and devote the areas to a 'forest-like' space for it to make a sizeable difference in cost. And, you also have the cost of buying the trees, planting them, and maintaining them for insects, etc.

Have you spoken to your landscaping vendor about your proposal? They are really the ones to advise you--you are also free to consult with other landscapers. It may be that your present vendor's costs are higher than most.

Rather than planting trees, would you consider planting other 'green' vegetation that would not require mowing. I know farmers in our area plant alfalfa, and other type 'green' crops.

JW1: Further to my initial response to you, I thought of another avenue to pursue. Go to your township/municipality office to learn what they recommend and perhaps require of open spaces.

Since the developer's plan for your community had to be approved by the township planning dept. and it included the open space in question, I would think they may have to approve any changes. They may be a tremendous help to you in this endeavor.

Xeriscaping is generally used in drier climates to reduce irrigation by returning areas to natural plants, etc. Here is the link to Wikipedia's article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping

Joe

I have a suggestion. Why not open the area up to a community garden? I am sure you have people who do enjoy gardening and sharing their plants/vegetables. Maybe "cut" the area up into squares or sections for each interested homeowner to reserve. Our HOA the neighbors often shared plants amongst each other and would have loved a nice garden area. The yards are too small and tight in our neighborhood to do any serious gardening.

You could open the area up to a playground. That's an option if the area is big enough. The insurance issue may be a non-issue if you call the insurance company about it. I know it was with our HOA if we put a playground in.

You may consider turning the area over to the city/county to maintain. If the area is in a place that is useless to you but could be used by the city/county, maybe consider turning it over to them.

There are lot's of options. Including making the area a "Dog friendly Relief center". I can't tell how the property is laid out to think of others. Ever consider even putting up a small building for lawn care supplies? That would take up some space.

I don't agree with putting in Trees. There are WAAY more problems than they are worth. MUCH harder to cut around. Plus they can cause damage if they fall. Attract unwanted pests. We have a Pine Beetle infestation that is spreading. Bradford Pear trees are beautiful and would do the job your looking for. However, their branches fall off easily in storms. Weeping willow trees are nice, but cut into water lines. Some trees just grow too large for the space and wreak havoc amongst everything. We spent $2K removing problem trees in our HOA.

If all else fails, call your local tree removing service and ask for them to bring in a bunch of mulch. However, be careful as the mulch may contain termites. Cypress mulch is best. Spread the mulch in the area and throw in a few plants and you got yourself a garden.

First thing to do is to review the actual contract with the landscapers. #1 How long is its duration? We actually ran into trouble with our builder having "sweetheart deals" with the landscaping company and at turnover, we were left with 3 more years on a 5 year contract with them. Technically, we could have sued to terminate the contract within a certain amount of time of the turnover, but the former management company AND the landscaper failed to produce the terms and diagrams used for the basis of the contract, so we were not able to put together a proper bid proposal package to open it up to other companies. Turns out, we had a decent price for the area anyway, so we didn't fight that much (there were bigger issues at hand.)
#2 What exactly is counted for the price of the landscapers? Ours does not discount if we turn a formerly mowed area into a planting. Also, they actually are contracted to "grounds maintanence" which includes leaf blowing and removal, insectacides/pesticides, planting beds, weeding, etc.
#3 Be VERY careful when you start talking about "prairie grasses" or "natural xeriscaping." Our HOA is now facing a SIGNIFICANTLY costly project to remove invasive, non-indiginous plants that were added without proper balance and knowledge of what would end up happening. The EPA and the wildlife conservation is involved. UGH! I'd much rather just have grass to mow as opposed to this headache! Also, many people do not understand what the "natural grasses" look is supposed to be, and you get complaint galore about the "overgrowth" in areas. Also, what is one man's pet is another's pest. Rabbits and other garden-devouring varmmits LOVE the taller grass to hide in. I personally appreciate the population control the big "ditch witch" mower provides!

Bottom line--check those quotes--see how much $$ you would actually be saving. Some landscape companies are not counting by the square foot, but by the "total job" or total time it takes to do the job. If they have to weave in and out of planting beds or cut by hand around trees and bushes, you might not get any savings at all, and ALSO be out the cost of the trees or plants to be added.

Wow - this forum is great! I really appreciate everyone's input.

Our landscaper's contract is renewed annually. We receive bids and pay our contractor based upon different areas cut since they are cut at different frequencies, so we know the price for each section.

The area we are looking at first is at the front of the plan along a main road and some distance from any homes. Our primary thought was to use some form of pines planted closely together so that in the near future the area would be completely shaded and grass underneath would not grow. (I think someone mentioned "forest" and that is what we envisioned.) Once we can price the trees (we will use volunteer labor to plant) we can determine our break even point (sorry, i'm an accountant) where the project would pay for itself.

The fact that nobody has undertaken a similar project gives me pause, and the ideas thrown out here give me valuable information to take back to other board members.

I would also consider contacting the Arbor foundation for more information on trees. Our City actually has a department for trees and beautification. You may find additional information there as well. One city here wanted to be the "Crepe Myrtle" capital of the world, so they gave away Crepe Myrtles. You may also have organizations where you live they will give away trees to be planted.

I had a GREAT brochure the city gave me on trees. It had the different mature sizes of the trees and the types best to plant in different situations. The city was very helpful. Unfornately, we also have a group called the "Master gardeners". Alot of communities have them as well. They may have additional resources and training for your community. Our misfortune is our "Master Gardeners" could be called "Master Idiots". So be careful of some resources. Get a few opinions first before proceeding.

Pine trees don't have a very strong root system. Depending on the type of pine, they can fall down real easily. You have to consider power lines and future use of the property when deciding on size and type of tree. Not mowing may be the goal now but will it be in the future? A forrest of trees sounds good and may help with noise control. We have a group of hedges in front of our HOA. However, we have to pay the lawncare to trim them. They are awful and I forgot the name of them. However, a good boxwood hedge and azealea is good.