01/Apr/2010
Neighborhoods Prepare Their
Highland Creek
By Barbara Hatfield,
President
Highland Creek
Neighborhood Association
Open Elections for
Neighborhood Association Board
The Highland Creek Neighborhood Association has been active
since the neighborhood was built.
Each
summer the Board of Directors has open nominations and elections will be held
at the meeting in July.
A specific date
has not been set, but we ask all interested neighbors contact the current Board
through email.
Board meetings are typically held four times a year and an annual
neighborhood-wide meeting held each summer.
Specific issues or concerns may lead to additional meetings throughout
the year.
The goal is to have a common voice for the well being of our
neighbors and maintain a pleasant living environment.
Property Values
We will continue to highlight a few of the guidelines in
each newsletter as a reminder and appreciate neighbors who have shared comments
through the email address.
A full list of neighborhood restrictions may be found at www.highlandcreekbr.com
Restrictions include:
-The posted speed limit is 30 mph
on neighborhood streets.
Street parking
and high speeds can create a dangerous circumstance.
Please watch your speed and obey the limits.
-Garbage cans that are overstuffed
will not be emptied, the overflow often ends up littering the yards.
Garbage can lids should be closed when put
out for collection; can should be put away at the end of the day.
It is time to plan
for Spring…
The first step is to determine the last frost for the
year.
In the mean time you can get your
gardening tools sharpened and ready.
-Start by ridding your soil of weeds.
If you keep the soil slightly moist, you will
be able to pull out the weeds easily.
-After weeding, test your garden soil by sending
a sample to the lab.
You should know the
pH and mineral composition of your soil.
Herbs prefer soil that is more alkaline to soil that is acidic.
A soils pH levels can be increased by adding
ground limestone to the soil.
-LSU Ag Center is a good local resource for
additional information on soil testing.
http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/parishes/East+Baton+Rouge/Features/ANR/
-You may have soil with poor drainage, or soil
that does not retain enough moisture.
In
this case, it is best to add organic matter to the soil. For soil with poor
drainage, you will need to add compost, gypsum, and coarse sand.
You can also add other organic matter, like
grass clippings, sawdust and straw to the soil.
As they breakdown, they will release nutrients to the soil.
To help soil that does not retain water well,
you will need to add compost.
Compost
will make the soil more dense, thereby helping it to hold water that would
otherwise run off.
-Make a list of all the plant supports you had
last season.
If you need to stock up,
early spring is always a good time to buy because the shops will be well
stocked and have greater variety.
There
are many plants like peonies that need extra support to thrive and some
vegetable plants need to be held vertically with supports for safety from
insects.
April 22 is Earth Day
and may be a great target date to have your plants in!
Continued communication is welcome.
Please email your Board of Directors at
highlandcreekboard@gmail.com
Hickory Ridge Subdivision
By Marsha Walton
Beautification
Committee
Hickory Ridge
Subdivision
What increases the value of your property? Well, one way is
to have neighbors like those that have won yard of the month! Our neighbors
have put a lot of time and hard work into making the landscaping around their
homes beautiful, and we applaud them! Hopefully, they will inspire every
homeowner in Hickory Ridge to do a little something special, to improve the
landscaping around their homes. If we follow their lead, we collectively
increase our property values, that's a win - win for all of us. So, beautify
your landscaping, you could be the next "Hickory Ridge Yard of the
Month" homeowner!
