Landscaping Changes
In order to follow the intent of Article 8 of the Waterford Covenants which states, “It is the intent of the Association to maintain within the Property a residential community of high quality and harmonious improvements”. The Waterford Board of Directors has established the following requirements regarding plants, shrubs and trees:
The following items can NOT be planted and are banned:
- Spanish Bayonet
- Asparagus Fern
- Heather
- Perennials around trees and mailbox posts
The following items must be maintained by the home owner in the following ways:
- Crotons are not to exceed three feet
- Dracaenas of all varieties are to be kept no higher than five feet.
- Keep vegetation below the window sill line for escape in the event of fire.
Homeowner’s plantings must be maintained in a harmonious manner. These requirements are enforced by the landscape committee. (1/22/2009)
Waterford ARC/ARB Request
Rules and regulations regarding outside plantings. While major changes to your home like adding or changing a patio require both Waterford and Aberdeen Property Owners boards approval, you only need the approval of the Waterford Board of Directors for landscape changes around your home.
Builder Installed Shrubs
The shrubs around the outer walls of your home come under the ownership and maintenance of the Waterford Home Owners Association. The contracted landscape company, Bug Away, cuts and maintains these shrubs as a part of the normal maintenance schedule. Over the last several years much of these shrubs have become over run with invasive Asparagus Fern.
While the Board of Directors would like the total removal and replacement of these infected shrubs it is not cost effective.
The Board has decided to address the problem in the following ways:
- Bug Away, the contracted landscape company for Waterford, has commenced hand pulling of the ferns whenever possible.
- The homeowner can also elect, at their own expense, to have Bug Away, or another company, remove all of the overgrown shrubs, treat the ground to kill the Asparagus fern, and install new perennial shrubs as shown below.
- Also, you can have the old green plants removed from the base of the trees in the “Island” in the front lawn and replaced with your choice of approved vegetation. PLEASE NOTE: This option will require you to complete an ARC/ARB form for approval.
Two Kinds of Plantings
There are basically two major kinds of plantings.
- Annuals are those that last only one season and then usually need to be removed and replaced for the next planting season.
- Perennials are those plantings that remain year after year.
Simply stated, this guide will show you a list of the annuals and perennials that have already been approved by the Waterford Board of Directors for planting in our community. Also, this guide will describe the steps that you must follow to comply with the rules and regulations as well as our governing documents.
Annuals
South Florida has 2 basic annual seasons – winter and summer – with different plants for each one. Although the annuals are the same ones you may have planted for summers up North, certain ones do best here in winter’s cooler temperatures – a climate similar to a Northern spring and early summer.
Winter annual plants can usually live through spring, but plant them too early in the fall when the weather is still hot and they may not make it. If you buy during warm autumn weather, place things like impatiens and geraniums in partial shade where they’ll only get morning or dappled sunlight.
Sometimes South Florida annuals will surprise you and live for several years…especially if you plant them where they’ll be protected from summer’s blazing sun.
Consult Waterford’s landscape contractor, Bug Away or a local plant nursery – they know their plants and carry annuals when it’s time to plant them. Beware of box stores because the information on the little plastic insert in each pot doesn’t necessarily apply to our subtropical climate or our actual annual seasons
Winter Annuals
Summer Annuals
Perennials
Exactly what is a perennial anyway? Many people confuse the definition of perennial with that of annual. Perennials are plantings that last several years, usually three years or more. Annuals are meant to last one year or one season. Some South Florida perennials are grown as annuals everywhere else (“perennial but treat as an annual”) because they’re too tender to winter over. Winters here, however, are mild enough for even some annuals to last more than one season when planted in an ideal spot.
Perennials may live only a year, if they must deal with adverse conditions such as insufficient irrigation. Most aren’t cold hardy, though they usually bounce back from a normal winter’s cold snaps. Perennials, unlike annuals, won’t give you constant flower color, because they go through cycles of bloom – and generally flower less often during our cooler months. But interplanting perennials with seasonal annuals can create year-round garden color.
The Waterford Board of Directors has established a list of permitted perennials that you may consider for your garden. To start the process of planting perennials please complete an ARB form (see PDF that you can download) for permission to start the process.
