May 2000
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From The Chair...
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, the Planter's Row Homeowner's Association now has a website! The website, located at www.plantersrow.net, will be a great asset for our community. In the design process, our goal was to create a site, which would be both informative and interactive to the user. While the site will continue to evolve and change as we move forward, I think at this point we have gotten off to a great start.
The site consists of a home page, which welcomes the user to the site, and includes a site map to help in navigation as well as containing the current issue of The Grapevine. The site is then broken down into four areas, three for each of our committees, Architectural Control, Communications and Activities as well as a site for the Advisory Board. Each site will continually be developed and revised to accommodate the needs of the community. For example, at the ACC site, you will be able to access the current Fencing and Landscaping Guidelines, and on the Activities site, you can get the 2000 Pool Schedule. Each site will also contain an interactive section in which any comments, questions or concerns can be e-mailed directly to the Committee Liaison. There is also a section at each site for frequently asked questions such as "how do I submit for a fence approval" or "how do I get a new pool pass." There is also a section for classifieds, and you can even download the G'Braves schedule!
As mentioned earlier, The Grapevine will now be available on-line and can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format. Currently, we plan to publish a hardcopy edition through June, and afterwards print copies only for those who request it. The June edition will contain a form to fill out so that those who prefer to continue to receive a hardcopy will continue to receive one. In doing this, we will more than offset the cost of maintaining the site by saving printing charges.
I hope many of you will visit the site and give us your feedback on what you like, dislike or would like to see in the future. As mentioned before, I am certain we have a lot of talent and ideas within the community, which would be beneficial for everyone. I encourage you to provide feedback and get involved with your Homeowner's Association. It will be time well invested. Have a great Spring!
Activities Committee 
The Pool is Open! Yes, that time of year we've all been looking forward to, the opening of the Planter's Row Community Pool on May 13th. Much work has gone into making the opening and pool season more enjoyable for everyone.
New pool furniture arrived in May, expanding our lounge chair capacity and even the addition of another table & chairs.
New umbrellas have been purchased, eliminating the hassle of annoying crank to open and close each umbrella.
The cabana has been painted and soon gutters will be added to protect the landscaping and divert water from the walkways.
Better pool hours to meet the needs of the community
Family nights on 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month open till 10:30pm
Parties on Memorial Day and Labor Day
Pool ID's were handed during April and May to those who are on record to receive a pool pass or new community families who have requested them. The pool committee is only able to make pool ID's for those families who had valid 1999 ID's and are current on this years dues. New or replacement ID's are created as requested for those in good standing, as per Goldsmith. (Replacement ID's are $5.00 per ID) If you have not received a 2000 Planter's Row Pool ID sticker or pass, please contact Cathy Bell at Goldsmith. Please refer to the ID replacement policy in the April newsletter issue.
A request form is enclosed for new homeowners and replacement ID's.
The Pool Committee is in need of your help this year with keeping your eyes and ears open to issues, which may occur throughout the pool season. We need your help, not only to inform us of pool concerns, but also to get involved and help us make Planter's Row a better place. A small amount of input is all that's needed to properly meet the needs of our pool community. Help is also needed for the upcoming Memorial Day Party scheduled for May 29th. Please call Darin Scheidly at 297-0853.
All in all, I look forward to an enjoyable and sun filled summer for everyone.
Architectural Committee
We look forward to the start of the new Yard of the Month program in May. Judging will occur in early May and the winners will be recognized later in the month. With the many nice yards in Planter's Row, I am sure that our judges will have a tough time deciding on the winners.
Also, we would like to remind anyone planning to do outdoor work this summer that now is the time to submit their changes for approval. Examples of items requiring approval are fences, deck additions, outbuildings, driveway additions, or play structures larger than 10' wide by 12' long by 7.5' high. Please allow 30 days for approval and inform your contractors not to start before approval is obtained.
Finally, we plan to begin auditing soon. Initially we will concentrate on ensuring that all fences, deck additions, and driveway additions are approved. We will request that any unapproved structures be submitted for review and approval by the ACC. Your help in this process will be greatly appreciated.
The Green Thumb
(The Green Thumb column is intended to stimulate your interest and provide some help in keeping our properties looking good - and property values high. It only scratches the surface of things to do to keep your landscape areas beautiful. There are of course an endless number of more detailed sources including, publications, local nurseries and neighbors. Please let us know if you have information to share)
Sitting here watching the raindrops splat against the window, it's hard to get inspired to write about watering the lawn. But now that the grass is green, it's up to us to keep it that way when we don't get enough rain to do the job for us. Keep in mind that no significant amount of moisture moves upward in the soil to replenish that which is lost at the surface. As surface moisture is exhausted by roots and evaporation, only rain and watering can restore it.
Most lawns need from 1" to 1-1/2" of water every 5-7 days and deep watering 2-3 times per week is better than watering just a little bit every day. This allows the moisture to penetrate deeper, encouraging the development of a deeper root system which ultimately won't require as much watering.
If you haven't already fertilized your Bermuda, now is the time to do so. It is also a good time to reseed any bare areas. However, money and effort spent trying to reseed cool season grasses (fescues) now, will probably be wasted. You may get some greening, but there is not enough time for the grass to become established before the hot weather sets in.
While the dusting off of your mower for the season, as a minimum, you should also check and/or change the oil and clean or replace the air filter. A sharp blade is also important and you would be surprised how dull and dinged they can become after just one season. Sharpening, (check the phone book), or replacing a blade is not that expensive and your grass will love you for it.
Recommended mowing heights vary somewhat for the various varieties of grasses, but you won't go wrong keeping the fescue about 3 to 3 1/2 inches high and the Bermuda about 1 to 1 1/2 inches high. Regular mowing is important and you should never remove more than one-third of the grass height at any one time.
I get so mad about weeds that I don't even want to write about them. Short of having to pull them out, there are a number of products now on the market that will significantly help to control them and reduce the "pulling" task to something you can live with. Take some samples of what you have to Alexander's, one of our Yard of the Month sponsors, and they will fix you up with the product that you need.
YARD OF THE MONTH
If everything comes together as planned, our Yard of the Month program will kick off this month. As mentioned in the last issue, two yards will be selected each month, May through September and again in December. Winners will display a Planter's Row Yard of the Month sign for the month and will also receive a gift certificate from The Secret Garden or from Alexander's Other Door. We also hope to post pictures of the winners on the Planter's Row web site.
Our closest nursery and garden center, Alexander's has a full line of plants, shrubs, trees, expendables and much, much more. Located at 203 E. Butler Rd., they are just one stop light past the fire station. Darryl and his team are willing to provide knowledgeable advice for any of your gardening problems. If you're just out for a ride with the kids, stop by and let them have a look at Alexander's beautiful Koi (Japanese fish).
The Secret Garden has an extensive selection of wonderful and unique indoor and outdoor garden accessories. They are located at 2222 Augusta St. in the Augusta Commons Shopping Center. Rebecca and her staff will help you select the perfect treasure to display and enjoy or to give as a gift. Be sure to check out their engraved garden stones.
The owners of these establishments have gone out of their way to support our program and, in turn, we encourage you to give them your patronage. Even though you may not have a gift certificate when you visit, please let them know that you are from Planter's Row and that you appreciate their support.
Weather permitting, judging will be done during the first seven days of each month. As the season progresses, the judges are at liberty to select a "most improved" yard as a winner. There is, therefore, ample opportunity for every homeowner to be a winner. GOOD LUCK!!
Communications Committee
The communications committee has been very active the past few months. Craig Turbolski has taken over as the chair for the committee. We will continue to conduct our monthly meeting on the 4th Tuesday of every month. Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24th, at 7:00pm at the pool cabana. Plan on stopping by and become part of our committee!
As Tim mentioned earlier we are very excited about the release of our new website. Visit it at www.plantersrow.net - Check it out and tell us how you like it. You can Email us directly from the website. A special thanks to Kris Durbin and Netdesigners for the start of our great website. Visit his website at www.netdesigners.net - Please contact Kris with any of your Website needs. We will update the site on a regular basis to include the monthly newsletter, general information on guidelines for our community, pool ID applications, fun facts and information.
Since the newsletter will now be available online we will be discontinuing the delivery of the newsletter in the month of July. If, however, you don't have access to the web you can obtain a hard copy of the newsletter by simply filling out the attached request form and send it to my attention at 5 Leslie Court.
We are in the process of updating the 2000 Planter's Row Directory within the next few months. If any changes are needed to your phone numbers, name, etc, please let us know now. Notify me of any changes by May 31, 2000 on the attached form (page 11) so we can get them in the new directory. The updated directory will also contain guidelines from the ACC, pool ID request forms, and any other special interest items so it can be used as a source of information about our community. If anyone is interested in helping out, please contact me.
As mentioned in our previous newsletter, Susan Thomas will be heading the transition team for our community as we prepare for total homeowner control from Liberty- Contact Susan to be included in this extremely important group.
Your help can go a long way so please contact a committee member and aid us in making Planter's Row a great place to live.
FYI
Questions and Answers
If you have a question regarding an issue that affects all of us as homeowners, please submit it to William Goldsmith Co., by the 15th of the month. We will try to have an answer by the following issue.
Swimming Lessons - Upstate Pool Management will be offering swimming lessons this summer season. The sessions are scheduled to begin on Monday, June 5th. Please contact a lifeguard for more details.
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