Home & Landscape RAIN AND YOUR LANDSCAPE By Randy Zellers SDL, Director of Operations
We’ve made it through the summer and now we can evaluate how the landscape held up over the hot months of June, July, and August. The good news is we did receive some rain this monsoon season and replenished the soils with some much-needed moisture. The plants, trees and turf all respond positively to the natural rainfall and show flushes of green due to the high nitrogen content of the rain. While this helps, the Southwest is still considered to be in an extreme drought and California has just instituted some drastic cutbacks in usage which will trickle over to Arizona shortly. Natural rainfall has dramatic consequences on your landscapes and how you react to the rain will determine how sustainable the landscape will be. Too often, monsoon rains come fast and furious and most just washes away rather than a slow, soaking rain which we often get during the winter months. TURF By the time you are reading this article, most people have already scalped the Bermuda turf and planted rye seed for the winter. It is not required to plant rye seed within Scottsdale Ranch and the choices to seed or not lies with the individual homeowner. What are the pros and cons of overseeding? Pros • Beautiful, green turf throughout the winter • Aesthetically pleasing • User friendly throughout the cooler months of winter for pets and people Cons • Requires watering throughout the winter months (500,000 gallons per acre) through October, November, December, January, February and March • Over seeding with rye will diminish the heartiness of Bermuda base turf over time • Labor required to mow, edge and weed eat weekly • Two to three fertilizations to keep green throughout the winter • Cost of seed is doubling over price from 2020 DECOMPOSED GRANITE AREAS Due to the rains, granite areas in your landscape will be producing more weed growth as dormant seeds are springing to life throughout our landscapes. Existing weeds can be controlled with a post emergent chemical containing glyphosate. To prevent additional weed growth, it is the perfect time to apply a pre-emergent chemical to the granite areas. A pre-emergent application will prevent weed seeds from germinating and needs to be watered in to create the barrier at the soil level. Time applications when you know rainfall is in the forecast. The good news is saved water during rain events and the bad news is creation of weed growth. EROSION During rain events, erosion may have occurred and caused granite and soil to spill over onto sidewalks and streets. During our latest storms, 104th Street was flowing like a river across Mountainview and into the reservation to the south. After water subsides, use 8 October/November 2021
a flat shovel to scoop the granite and soil and place back into the swale created by the fast-moving water. To prevent additional erosion, you may want to bevel the edges of sidewalks to keep soil and granite from being moved from their intended spot. Pull the granite away from the sidewalk and dig out several inches of soil and then replace granite at grade to the sidewalk. Regrading of extreme sloped areas will prevent quick runoff as well. Softening slopes and creating catch basins within the landscape will help capture rainfall instead of it flowing down the street to the nearest drainage swale or culvert. Reuse water captured in the basins to irrigate flowerpots and other plants around your home. Rain is always a welcome sight in the desert Southwest but realize there are unintended consequences to one of Mother Nature’s best gifts.
SRCA Committee Member Spotlight By Michele Holzman SRCA Board of Director and Architectural Committee Chair
The newest member of the SRCA Architectural Committee, Richard Graff, was surprised when he attended his first meeting. Why, you ask? Was it our disagreement…our lack of decision making? No! He was pleasantly surprised by our consensus in thinking and our constructive points of view. When he volunteered several months ago it was because he experienced the architectural approval process after he moved into Scottsdale Ranch and re-painted the outside of his house. The staff was so helpful and the process so objective that he was impressed and volunteered. Little did he know that the Committee had been looking for an additional member with architectural experience? It was a win-win. Richard came to Scottsdale via South Africa and then San Diego where he worked a variety of positions as an Architect and creative problem solver. He says he always uses his architecture foundation both literally and figuratively when making important decisions. Richard has had a varied background in and out of corporate America: architecture, graphic design, knowledge management, appreciative inquiry, and furniture and door design. Now that he is retired, abstract painting absorbs most of his time. The SRCA Architectural Committee is so happy to have Richard as our partner in helping Scottsdale Ranch achieve its goal of being the best Community in Scottsdale.
