Should landscape be included in reserve funding?  A peace of mind answer to the question is “Yes”.  Does your association take your landscape for granted?  Is it a shoot from the hip type of budgeting plan each year?  If so, they may be gambling on receiving a huge wake up call in the future.

The National Board of Realtors estimates that 95% of the home shoppers have no desire to even get out of their cars if the property lacks curb appeal.  The same applies to apartment complexes and business centers trying to lease or sell office space.  In addition, people usually must be in a comfortable mood before they will purchase a property.

A Florida State University study found that an attractive landscape can significantly reduce human stress and help people experience a sense of well being.  The benefits of a well manicured landscape not only provides a positive reflection of the owners, it can significantly enhance property values.

According to a Gallup survey for ALCA and PLCAA, consumers spent $69.3 billion on professional landscape and garden services last year.  The survey also indicates that one of the top benefits received from these services was the protection of real estate value.

You may describe your grounds as aesthetically pleasing.  The description is a type of intangible asset.  One can manage that form of asset merely with a smile.  The landscape of an average size condominium complex can easily have a replacement cost of $500,000 to $5,000,000.  That real value is a form of tangible asset that certainly demands sound asset management.

Cash reserves on hand in the form of a CD is also a tangible asset that may be managed by simply checking to ensure that the investment is acquiring the best rate of interest.

Management of your landscape asset becomes a real challenge in comparison.  

Fundamental to quality asset management and rational decision making is the development of a complete data base of information including an inventory of landscape components and a reserve study analysis.

There are several landscape items.  Listed below are examples of component categories:

Like your other reserve studies, the analysis includes the useful life of each item, its useful remaining life, and an estimate of funds needed to replace or renovate each item at an estimated future given time.

Plans should be considered in the event of a hurricane or freeze.  Mother Nature can wipe out the remaining useful life of a part or all of your landscape with lightning, flood, and wind from tornado or hurricane.  You may be able to weather the storm on a partial or isolated loss.  A wipe out can be devastating.  If your landscape is properly insured, you may cancel the total loss factor.

Freeze - If your association is located in central or southern Florida, chances are your landscape includes numerous plants and even trees that you may have to kiss good-bye if your area is the beneficiary of a hard freeze.  A tally of unhardy plants may deserve a big footnote.

Of the landscape components, trees are frequently given special attention.  Trees, as a rule, are often the big dollar item of a landscape.  Professional landscapers find that they can usually divide condominium residents into two categories.  They are tree lovers and tree haters.  A tree hater’s preferred pruning method is a horizontal cut at ground level.  Tree lovers, on the other hand, say that they have never met a tree they didn’t like.  If you ask a tree hater why he or she hates a certain tree, they will normally confess that they really don’t hate the tree, they simply prefer it to be in a more appropriate location.

Trees can outgrow their useful life early if they start blocking someone’s scenic view.  Canopy trees often outgrow a small area.  Sometimes they start providing too much shade that limits the health and growth of turf or ornamental plants below.  Dirty trees earn their name by depositing sap, seeds, leaves, flower petals, and bird droppings on whatever they can.  An otherwise beautiful tree can cause a resident frustration because sap and other debris is always causing damage to an auto in its assigned parking space.

It is quite common to see a palm with a twelve foot frond growing three to five feet from a building.  Wind easily moves their fronds against painted surfaces, roofing tiles, drain troughs, screens, and windows.  Damage can easily occur.  The same situation holds true for branches of canopy trees.
Unlike wine, some trees may get worse with age.  They lift sidewalks, crack curbs and streets, move foundations and they actually have been known to allow their roots to get into the pool.

The database information should include a present design analysis which will aid in determining possible changes to the landscape required to remedy potential structural damage, safety liabilities, and other problems such as a line of sight and messy conditions.  These factors if rectified, will naturally require renovation funds earlier than the normal expected lifetime of the tree or plant in question.

In addition to the present design, part of the study may include a future design analysis.  Many consulting analysts frequently overlook the future design aspect.  True, it is not necessary and some may feel that it creates more work.  For others, it is not work at all.  It can be the most interesting and rewarding part of their brief horticultural career.

To understand what role the future design plays in the landscape reserves, one must ask themselves these questions.  First, is our landscape gorgeous and captivating or is it one of those run of the mill designs?  What do we want our landscape to look like in the future?  Do we need some changes and additions?  If these questions are asked, a future “knock your socks off” look will seldom lose out to the present blase design.

A practical procedure is to develop short and long range beautification plans to add color and flair.  The budget committee’s arms may have to be twisted a little to obtain reserves for future additional changes for beautification.  A steady as you go plan with attractive functional changes especially at highly focal locations may shorten the arm twisting session.

Substantial time and money spent could be all for naught.  You have heard what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men.  To guard against huge landscape asset dividends from going astray, it is mandatory to have effective maintenance planning.  A comprehensive grounds management program includes proper fertilization, irrigation, insect and disease control, and sound general maintenance of mowing, correct pruning, and trimming.  It is impossible to describe the proper maintenance procedures and techniques for optimum plant health in anything but a full bodied book.

Association board of directors have a changing of the guard from time to time as do volunteer landscape committees.  Everyone benefits from the database of information contained in a reserve study analysis with continuous improvement concepts.  Confident decision making is made easy with informative methods for defining requirements to ensure the present and future health, wealth, and beauty of your landscape.