Maintenance

Our weather was so mild that landscape improvements normally scheduled for May were made in October.

The bare areas along building 2, 6 and 10 were planted with pachysandra to give a unified look. Ornamental grasses were planted on the north side of building 6.

Dead bushes were removed from behind building 7 and 5 and replaced with ornamental grasses and gold evergreen mops.

Weeds and dead bushes were removed from the building 11 entry. Extensive planting was done to unify that area.

On the entry island, two trees were removed to open the area that had become overcrowded. Gold evergreen mops were planted to complete the border.

On the island in front of building 5, red and gold bushes were added to balance the color on both sides. A dogwood tree will be planted at the head of that island in May. This replaces the dogwood tree that was not a healthy specimen.

New dumpsters have been installed near buildings four, five and 11. Dumpsters have been ordered for buildings 8 and 12. All dumpsters have sliding doors on both sides except for the small dumpster at building 12.

The four-year-project to replace the shingles of chimney chases and side roofs of all Tulip Gardens buildings have been completed. This project used red cedar shingles, thicker and more weather resistant than the white cedar shingles used 30 years ago. Tailoring thousands of shingles to fit perfectly is critical to maintaining water-tight construction. The re-shingling was done by a skilled craftsman, Dennis Sattely.

The key component in our sewage system is a natural gas generator providing electricity if there’s an electric outage. It allows us to pump sewage from Tulip Gardens holding tanks into the Little Falls sewage system if there’s a power failure. The new generator replaces the unreliable 30–year-old generator. The Rapid Pump Company will continue to do quarterly maintenance.

The entire complex has been newly mulched after a thorough spring clean-up. Many bare areas of Tulip Gardens have been planted with dozens of flowering perennials and hundreds of pachysandra plants.

Several ash trees infected by the ash borer were removed and the stumps ground up. New earth, grass seed and fertilizer were added to these areas and they will become part of the lawn.

Repairs to the irrigation system are complete. Repairs were needed because of tree roots and worn out equipment.

New skylights in the entryway of building six have been installed. One skylight in building one has been replaced. The skylights were clouded because air had leaked in, mixing with the argon gas between the glass layers.

At building two, a large section of the sidewalk was replaced. The ground beneath had sunk over the past 30 years and the concrete was uneven.

A light pole in front of building eight was replaced because the base had deteriorated.

We are close to completing the major multi-year project of replacing shingles on chimney chases and upper side walls of buildings. The only remaining building is number one. All other buildings have new chimney chases and upper side walls.

The pole fence behind building two has been repaired because it’s a safety feature in addition to being cosmetic.

The mailbox at building seven was knocked over by a truck delivering construction materials. Hampton Management is working on replacement.