First the bad news: if you neglect Spring lawn care and any related concerns pertaining to your mower, you could end up paying for it the rest of the year. Now the good news: Spring lawn care doesn't entail nearly the amount of work that you'll have to invest in mowing alone throughout the summer months. In fact, most of you will need to implement only about half of the following ten tips for Spring lawn care depending upon your own unique circumstances. 


Spring Lawn Care Tip #1: Raking

Raking will be your first task of Spring lawn care. Raking is for more than just removing leaves: it's for controlling thatch, too. A thatch build-up of more than 1/2 inch is considered excessive.

There's often another good reason for a Spring raking. As you survey your lawn in Spring, see if there are any matted patches in which the grass blades are all stuck together. This can be caused by a disease known as "snow mold." New grass may have difficulty penetrating these matted patches but a light raking will be sufficient to solve this problem.


Spring Lawn Care Tip #2: Check for Compaction

If your lawn is subjected to high levels of traffic year after year, it may eventually start to show signs of decline. In such cases, your lawn is probably suffering from compacted soil. For instance, the presence of moss signals compaction (among other things). You can get rid of it, but successful eradication begins with the recognition that moss shouldn't be treated as "just another weed".  (See article on getting rid of moss).

Lawn aeration is the remedy for compaction. The good news is that lawn aerators can be rented at your local rental center. The bad news is that the experts recommend postponing lawn aeration until fall. But if, during your "spring lawn checkup," you become aware of compaction, at least you can plan on setting aside some time in the fall to take care of it.


Spring Lawn Care Tip #3: Liming

Besides compaction, the presence of moss plants also signals acidity. But grass likes a neutral pH. You can solve this problem by liming your soil. But don't expect a quick fix: the effects of liming are slow to take place.

First send a soil sample to your local county extension to determine the extent of your soil's acidity. The county extension will also be able to advise you on how much lime per square foot you'll need. Apply the lime using a fertilizer spreader.

If your lawn has been doing fine and shows no signs of suffering from acidity, don't apply lime. Liming is only a corrective measure, not a preventive measure. A soil that is too alkaline will also cause your lawn problems, so too much lime is as bad as not enough.


Spring Lawn Care Tip #4: Overseeding

Is your lawn riddled with bare patches due to dog spots, heavy traffic or neglect? If so, you may need to apply grass seed to fill in those bare patches. This solution is known as "overseeding lawns." Apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer when you overseed. Five weeks after the grass germinates, apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer.

However, Spring isn't the very best time for overseeding lawns. Fall is the preferred time when the new grass won't have to compete with crabgrass which is killed off by autumn frosts. So postpone overseeding until Fall, unless your situation is dire.


Spring Lawn Care Tip #5: Fertilizing

Lawns can be fertilized organically by using compost and mulching mowers. But for those who prefer chemical fertilizers, Scotts provides a schedule for fertilizing lawns. Many experts, however, recommend a lighter feeding in Spring and a heavier one in late Fall for the types of lawn grasses known as "cool-season grasses." Too much fertilizer in Spring can lead to disease and weed problems. And if you have, indeed, already fertilized in late Fall, your lawn is still "digesting" that fertilizer in Spring.


Spring Grass Care Tip #6: Applying Pre-emergent Herbicides

If you know that you have a problem with annual weeds and crabgrass, then fertilization in Spring should go hand in hand with the application of pre-emergent herbicides. As their name suggests, pre-emergent herbicides address weed control not "after the fact," but before their seedlings can even emerge. Pre-emergent herbicides accomplish this by forming something of a "shield" that inhibits seed germination. Don't undertake core aeration after applying pre-emergent herbicides: to do so would be to "puncture" this shield, thereby decreasing its effectiveness.

Crabgrass begins its assault on lawns in Spring when its seeds germinate and poses an additional problem when considering overseeding. So why not just begin by killing the crabgrass first with a pre-emergent herbicide? Because most pre-emergent herbicides work against not only weed seeds, but grass seeds as well! Therefore overseeding is incompatible with the application of most pre-emergent herbicides. If you must overseed in the spring, look for a product called, "Tupersan." Unlike other pre-emergent herbicides, Tupersan will not damage germinating lawn grass seed. 


Spring Grass Care Tip #7: Applying Post-emergent Herbicides -- Or Pulling Weeds

Keep an eye out for the emergence of the perennial weed 'dandelion' during the Spring season. At the very least you'll want to snap off their flower stems before they produce seed. If you're more ambitious you can dig them out by the roots. Spraying dandelion weeds with a post-emergent herbicide is more effective in Fall rather than in Spring. If you do choose to spray, however, select an herbicide for broadleaf weeds.


Tip #8: Tuning Up Existing Lawn Mowers

Mowing the lawn all summer can be tiring enough, right? Why make it more difficult on yourself by putting up with a lawn mower that doesn't start up immediately? When a lawn mower is stubborn about starting up, that can be a sign that it needs a tuneup. Although it’s often possible to get by without one, it is recommended that you have a lawn mower tuneup each year. Don't put it off till summer or pay someone else to do it. Learn how to tune up a lawn mower yourself using the following resource and have your machine ready to go for summer:  How to Tune Up Lawn Mowers


Tip #9: Buying a New Lawn Mower

Perhaps you're fed up with your old lawn mower. Or it's simply time for a change. This Q&A resource for consumers will help you decide on which type of lawn mower is best for you:  The Best Lawn Mowers


Tip #10: Reviewing Lawn Mowing Strategies

If you would like to know more about how to assess the health of your lawn and the proper way to mow the lawn to maintain its health, Springtime is an excellent time to learn lawn mowing strategies. This Q&A resource will help you graduate from mindless lawn mowing to mowing with a purpose: Tips for Mowing Lawns

The Tyler Area Builders Association (TABA) Parade of Homes for 2014 is scheduled for June 7th to the 15th. This year Rosebrook will have a home featured in the parade according to a source at Conaway Homes. It is the newest home currently being built at 202 Rosebrook Circle. This is also a great opportunity for the Homeowners Association to showcase the available lots within the neighborhood to area visitors. In short, time for landscaping and clean-up days!

Not a lot of publicity has been released on this years parade since it's still months away. The TABA website will host information on the exact schedule and ticket fees in the days to come. See link below.

However, the preliminary daily schedule from years past looks like this: Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Then, Monday-Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. 

For more information and history on the Tyler Area Builders Association Parade of Homes, visit the following website:http://www.tylerareabuilders.com/whats-happening/parade-of-homes.html

One of the main functions of the board is to maintain the association’s common areas. Common areas may include greenbelts, floral landscape, open space areas, recreational facilities and streets. The funds for maintaining these areas are generated through collection of assessments. The decision on how this maintenance is performed is left up to the board. The board need not go it alone, however.

Boards are entitled to rely on the opinions of experts in performing common area maintenance. The board can hire engineers, financial experts, architects or other experts to determine the proper method for performing any particular maintenance required. Boards may also enlist volunteer owners who are willing to perform the necessary research to determine what options are available to the association for addressing maintenance issues facing the association. These committees can report back to the board with two to three best options for proceeding and allow the board to make the ultimate decision. The board should be clear that the committee will prepare the information and present it to the board for the final decision. This will prevent committee members from believing that they will make the ultimate decision. Use of committees in this regard can raise community involvement, allow motivated owners to participate and alleviate some of the board’s workload.

Because of financial concerns, boards often defer maintenance for large items; this should be avoided! Deferred maintenance will result in increased costs to the association if the item fails before it can be repaired. Emergency repairs are almost always more expensive than repairs or maintenance performed with advanced planning and under schedule. Boards should use obtain and rely on a reserve study to prepare appropriate short and long term plans for addressing maintenance responsibilities. With proper planning, boards can avoid most unforeseen or emergency assessments.

Without planning for repairs, a special or emergency assessment may be necessary. The board will have a better chance of achieving owner approval for a large special assessment for maintenance purposes if it has kept the owners informed. While informed owners may not like writing a check for the special assessment, they will be more likely to understand its importance. 

Owners must understand that maintenance of the common areas is the responsibility of the association. As such, they should not interfere with that maintenance by modifying common area landscaping or attempting to modify common area equipment. If owners notice that landscaping maintenance is lax or that a common area component (e.g. pool heater) is not working properly, they should inform the board so it can arrange to have the issue addressed or the item repaired. Because the board cannot be everywhere all the time, notices of deficiencies from owners are very important. Boards should always follow up on notices received from owners regarding common area deficiencies.

Owners must also understand that the board hires the association’s vendors. As the contracting party, the board is responsible for ensuring that the landscapers, roofers and other vendors perform according to contract. Having not generally reviewed the contract, owners may expect something from the vendor that is not required under the contract. For example, owners may want the walkway to their residence swept or blown clear of debris. While some landscape contracts may require such work, this may not always be the case. Owners should ask their board what is required under the contract instead of confronting vendors. This may result in potential liability for interference with the associations’ contract and may not accomplish the desired result.

In addition to common area maintenance, some boards are also responsible for maintaining areas within individual lots – often referred to as “common maintenance areas.” This type of shared maintenance is often the source of contention within communities. Because the area is physically located on an owner’s lot, the owners may believe they are entitled to make landscaping changes to the area, even though the documents of the association may prohibit such landscaping. Installing items or performing maintenance in these areas may result in owner liability.

Another item of contention is when an association fails to perform maintenance in these common maintenance areas, leaving the owner’s lot in a less than desirable state. In such an instance, the owner may wish to perform the maintenance that the board has failed to perform. Owners should be cautioned against taking such action. On the other hand, boards should be cautioned against allowing common maintenance areas to fall into disrepair. Because these areas are so intimately intertwined with an owner’s property and home, failures in maintenance are almost always noticed before to failures in other areas. Boards should strive to place these maintenance areas at the top of their priority lists. If an owner notices a failure in this respect, that owner should notify the board immediately and the board should take steps to address the problem as soon as possible.

While this is easy to speak about in theory, in reality, the issues become much more complex. For example, what one owner believes is appropriate landscaping for his or her lot may not be in line with the belief of the board or with the acceptable landscaping palette for the community. Under the governing documents, ultimately the decision in this regard lies with the board. That being said, the board would do well to recognize differences within the community and to make an effort to accommodate owner requests to the extent they do not result in a hodge-podge community look and/or increase the cost of maintenance.

Source:  http://www.hoa2hoa.com/showthread.php/18-Functions-of-the-Board-Maintain-the-Common-Area