Bill Barnard
June marks the beginning of our summer season, a time when many homeowners have gone to cooler climates to escape the summer heat. As the temperatures begin to soar, so do the challenges for our landscape and golf course maintenance crews. In my message this month, I’d like to share a bit more about those challenges and what these crews do to help keep PebbleCreek looking beautiful.
Our community is large—we occupy just over four square miles, much of which is common area and grass, so maintaining it is a huge, ongoing undertaking. Within those four square miles are over 300 acres of maintained common areas, including our golf course desert areas. We have well over 100,000 plants, flowers, bushes, shrubs, and trees to maintain as well. Not to mention the plentiful grass at PebbleCreek, including 13 acres of common area turf and 270 acres of golf course turf.
It takes a team to manage it all. Leading the Landscape Maintenance team is Enrique Vigil, landscape superintendent. He oversees the HOA common area maintenance crew, as well as the work done by the crews from our contracted landscape company, CareScape. The crews maintain clubhouse areas, sports courts, parking lots, pools, and main streets. They respond to issues identified by homeowners via PebbleHelp.org (our homeowner feedback system) and our Architectural and Landscape Committee. Our golf courses require special attention and are taken care of by our Golf Course Maintenance team, led by Jeff Lebo, golf course superintendent at Eagle’s Nest, and Joe Miller, golf course superintendent at Tuscany Falls. They oversee all the maintenance at their respective golf courses, big jobs indeed!
During the summer months, we tackle one of the largest scale projects we have annually, the trimming of palm trees and other trees throughout the community. There are over 5,000 trees that will be trimmed along main roads, community common areas, and golf courses. Total Tree Care is the vendor that is contracted for this project, which starts at the end of May and will run eight to 10 weeks into July. This project is currently underway. If they haven’t reached your area yet, they will get there soon.
Another major project during the summer months is the annual aerification of the golf courses. Aerification is the process where cores of soil and grass are pulled out of the greens, fairways, and tee boxes in order to reduce compaction and to allow water and air to penetrate into the soil. It is also helpful to help leach the salts that have accumulated at the surface. Tuscany Falls West is already underway, with the Eagle’s Nest golf course next, then finishing with Tuscany Falls East in conjunction with our bunker renovation starting at the beginning of July. CareScape will handle the aerification for common area turf this summer.
The summer season is also when we transition from winter rye grass to Bermuda grass. Many people do not realize that we are growing two different crops of grass, and that this transition is a natural process. It can be alarming and concerning to see the rye grass begin to turn brown, but, before you know it, the Bermuda grass base starts to come back and green turf returns. The winter rye starts dying out when our temperatures reach into the 100s and nighttime temperatures stay above 70, but the Bermuda grass does not start flourishing until the humidity levels increase during our monsoon period in July and August. Unfortunately, it is a rough time of the year for the aesthetics of the grass, and brown patches are the norm until the Bermuda grass can fully take hold. The goal is that by Sept. 1 we have full coverage of Bermuda once again.
These crews of hardworking staff are dedicated to doing their very best to maintain our grounds and golf courses. I will be the first to admit we are not always perfect. Occasionally, there is an area that needs attention. That is where you come in. Our crews can’t be everywhere all the time, so if you see a landscape area that needs attention, please send us a note via our pebblehelp.org comment system. Your message will be dispatched to the appropriate staff member, who will ensure your issue is addressed.
I am proud of the work that the Landscape and Golf Course Maintenance teams are doing, especially during these incredibly hot summer months. I hope as you drive, bike, and walk through the community, you will take a moment to stop and experience how truly beautiful this community really is.
I hope you continue to live your best life here in PebbleCreek.