...Ocean Gallery savings
The 42-acre community, with 439 condominiums, attributes much of the reduction to “adopting many of the UF/IFAS recommendations.”
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Joe Sewards, The community began to update its landscaping in 2004 and gained further interest in Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ practices of the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program when University of Florida/IFAS Horticulture Agent Joe Sewards, St. Johns and Putman counties, conducted a series of workshops in fall 2008. Ocean Gallery’s maintenance staff attended the UF/IFAS irrigation class.
Association officer and architectural review committee member Richard Shortlidge, who has spearheaded the changes and improvements in Ocean Gallery’s landscape, says of the irrigation class: “Whatever you folks did convinced them [the property management and maintenance team] that we needed to make changes in our irrigation system and practices so that we are watering more efficiently.”
Community sees cost and water savings, with no reduction in landscape quality
And they did make changes. As a result, Ocean Gallery has seen a reduction in its maintenance costs and water use, and has not seen a reduction in landscape quality, according to Mr. Shortlidge.
The landscaping guidelines of the architectural review committee include the nine Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles. In addition, Ocean Gallery’s maintenance contracts contain Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Best Management Practices for pest management and fertilizer use, which produced a savings of $6,500 in one year. Mr. Shortlidge adds that they have had fewer pest problems. In addition, pruning the 2,000 palm trees in Ocean Gallery must be done according to Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles.
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Capped irrigation headIn one of the three villages in Ocean Gallery, the Village Las Palmas community realized a 50 percent decline in water use in six months at one well that supplies common areas around four of its nine buildings as a result of installing low volume irrigation. Also, irrigation heads in established beds have been capped off throughout the entire community and soil moisture sensors will be installed this year on all 13 wells in the complex. Ocean Gallery also replaced difficult-to-maintain turf grass areas with groundcovers, which require less irrigation and maintenance, and use bulk quantities of mulch throughout the community.
That’s not all…the community undertook a project to enrich and preserve their shoreline. Through a volunteer effort, they raised over $2,000 in donations and planted 1,200 sea oats and installed sand fences. This tripled the size of the coastal dune and extended it almost 40 feet. Shoreline preservation and wildlife habitat enhancement are among Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles.
More changes planned as FYN and Ocean Gallery continue outreach
Joe Sewards continues to advise the board and its residents about Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ practices. In January, he returned to talk with additional community members. The association ran announcements about the program on its community-wide TV channel, in addition to posting fliers. Interest is growing, and individual homeowners have taken note. A couple recently outfitted their entire landscape with mirco-irrigation. After seeing their yard, other residents have asked how they can make their own more Florida-Friendly.
Other Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ practices Ocean Gallery plans: Replace dying plants that are not suited to a certain area with Fakahatchee grass, and retrofit a turf area around the retention pond (pictured) with muhly grass, cypress and aquatic plants. The turf kept failing as they r
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Pond bank and edge to be landscaped eplaced it over the years, since it was planted in an exceptionally dry and sandy steep embankment leading to the retention pond. New plantings will carry out the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ concept of suiting plants to the site’s growing conditions. The aquatic plants reduce and clean up water pollution.
The community continues to monitor water savings and will explore cost savings in its electric bills as operation of the well pumps declines due to less demand.
Stay tuned for updates as Ocean Gallery embraces Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles.
