Transforming an HOA in Catonsville, MD: A Landscaping Case Study on the Hidden Bluff Community
Carolyn Morris loves it when she’s out and about in her HOA neighborhood and people gush about the beautiful landscaping.
“There’s a group of ladies who walk every morning and one came up to me recently and said, ‘It just makes me happy to be out here — everything is so beautiful,’” says Morris, former secretary of the Hidden Bluff HOA board and now the liaison between the HOA community and Level Green Landscaping, the HOA’s landscaping partner.
“Even the delivery people say, ‘Wow, this is really beautiful,’” Morris says. “But it doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of work.”
Welcome to Hidden Bluff, an HOA community in Catonsville, MD where the residents take pride in their homes and landscaping.
Level Green Landscaping has been partnering with Hidden Bluff for the past five years, offering comprehensive HOA landscape maintenance and snow removal to keep the community appealing, impressive, and safe.
Level Green Landscaping account manager Tyler Kreft walks us through what all that takes. And Morris shares why the valued partnership makes such a big impact.
Tending to Each Resident’s Landscaping Needs
The Hidden Bluff HOA landscape maintenance contract with Level Green includes detailed maintenance for each homeowner’s front and back yard, in addition to community common areas.
Level Green crews cover all the crucial tasks, from mowing and blowing to weeding, trimming and pruning, including handling individual homeowners’ requests.
“It's really detailed individual care per homeowner,” Kreft says. He works with the HOA board to create a spreadsheet on each homeowner’s specific expectations.
“Everyone wants the ground ivy removed from beds,” Kreft says, “but one house might say ‘Prune all the laurels to under the window height but don’t touch my weeping Japanese maple.’
“When it’s time for aeration and seeding the spreadsheet might say, ‘Don’t do this house — they have an underground dog fence.’” (The aeration machines crews use can damage the underground wiring.)
“There are lots of different requests,” Kreft says. “It’s a lot to manage, but the operations manager and the HOA board do a great job communicating with each other.”
Morris agrees.
“They listen to our comments, our suggestions, the questions we have, and they take it all seriously,” Morris says. “It’s always ‘I’m on it.’ It’s never, ‘Oh, geez, what does she want now?’”
Great HOA landscape maintenance is all about staying on top of things, Kreft says.
“I like to be on site often and be proactive,” Kreft says, “making sure that I bring things to their attention before they see it. It's really about how we can protect their investment and improve upon what they currently have at Hidden Bluff.”
Communication is Key
“I always make sure I reach out to them so they don’t have to reach out to me,” Kreft says, “letting everyone know when we’ll be there and what to expect.”
Residents love that.
“When it’s time for aeration, I always let them know a month ahead of time when we’ll be there,” Kreft says. “I’ll tell them what day we’ll be there for pruning. Then at the end of the day I’ll tell them how far we got, and what day we’ll be back to continue.”
“Their communication is exceptional,” Morris says.
HOA Maintenance: Providing Timely Solutions
Hidden Bluff is fortunate to have many mature trees, adding a majestic grace and much-appreciated shade to the neighborhood.
But mature trees have big roots, and that can cause problems.
“Roots of big trees were lifting up the sidewalk,” Morris says. “We have a lot of dog walkers. Nobody wants to trip on the sidewalk.”
Crews removed six problem honey locust trees and replaced them with ‘Green Vase’ zelkovas, deep-rooted trees less likely to damage sidewalks.
“Instead of just replacing them with the same kinds of trees, Tyler said, ‘We have a better option, so you’re not in the same situation in 10 or 15 years,’” Morris says. “They have great ideas on how to mitigate problems.
“Tyler suggested we go with 3-inch trunks instead of 2-inch trunks, so the trees will fill in faster and will blend in better with our mature trees,” Morris says. “We really appreciate his knowledge and advice.”
Plant Care: A Key Part of Commercial HOA Landscaping
Level Green crews plant bright annual flowers at Hidden Bluff each spring, offering a cheerful welcome to residents and guests.
Red dragon wing begonias brightened the property this year, strategically planted flanking the HOA’s main entrance sign and the traffic circle just past the guard stand.
A host of perennials, shrubs and trees grace the Hidden Bluff HOA landscaping, including daylilies; catmint; spirea; holly; laurels; arborvitae; maples and cherry trees.
Pruning is a big part of the HOA landscaping package at a community like Hidden Bluff that has so many shrubs and trees.
“We do three prunings a year,” Kreft says. “That gives us enough time to deal with all the different species’ needs.”
Proper pruning requires expert horticultural knowledge — different shrubs have specific pruning needs at different times of the year.
Expert, timely pruning can increase the lifespan of trees and shrubs and boost an HOA’s curb appeal. It’s a safety issue, too. Trees and shrubs that get too overgrown and gangly can snag pedestrians, obscure signage, and block lighting.
The removal of old, overgrown limbs let the Hidden Bluff shrubs grow new, vigorous branches in their place.
HOA Landscape Maintenance means Targeted Turf Care
“They’re very much in love with their turf,” Kreft says. Green, thriving lawns require a comprehensive turf care strategy, including targeted visits for fertilizing and weed control throughout the year, with four visits from spring through fall. Beyond that, aeration and overseeding ensure the healthy roots and thick turf needed for lawns that impress.
The development was built on top of a hill, Kreft says, “and they had terrible grass 10 years ago. They did a heavy top dressing back before we took over five years ago and installed irrigation in the common areas.”
A couple years after Level Green started working with Hidden Bluff the account manager assigned to the HOA landscape maintenance was promoted to a branch manager position.
“After that, they decided to go with another landscaping company for a year and their grass really went downhill,” Kreft says. “So they reached out to us and asked if we were willing to come back.”
Neatness Matters in Commercial HOA Landscaping
“They expect everything to be neat and tidy,” Kreft says. “All the hard surfaces get blown off, like back patios and front walkways.”
Residents love the attention to detail, Morris says.
“There’s a heightened sense of pride that all of the homeowners have,” she says. “You see the beautiful flowers and the well-manicured bushes, and I personally really like coming in and seeing that perfect edge that they do. I notice little things like there's a bare spot, and then I'll see grass seed down. It's that initiative that really keeps this neighborhood looking really nice.”
A thorough spring clean up visit adds to the tidy appearance, followed by fresh mulch a month later.
The Hidden Bluff community also gets three leaf removal visits — one before Halloween, one before Thanksgiving, and one before Christmas.
Expert Snow and Ice Removal for HOA Landscaping Safety
Level Green handles the Hidden Bluff community’s snow and ice management, too.
“I’ll communicate with them about the weather, let them know if a storm is coming and ask them if they want a pre-treatment,” Kreft says.
A hallmark of Level Green’s snow management is frequent communication, and the Hidden Bluff board appreciates it.
Ice is a big concern, Morris says.
“We have a couple hills with drainage issues at the bottom where water collects and ice forms,” Morris says. “It can get very slick as we’re coming in and going out. They pay extra attention to those areas.
“We have a lot of older residents who like to walk,” Morris says. “The snow crews keep the sidewalks and the residents’ walkways clear. If you’re 85 you’re not going to be out there shoveling your walk.”
There’s No Place Like Home
“Many of the Hidden Bluff residents are working professionals,” Kreft says. “When they come home at the end of the day, the last thing they want to do is pick up sticks in their yard or pull weeds in their beds. We’ve got it covered. We give them peace of mind.”
The HOA has had the same Level Green crew members on site for the past three years, Kreft says.
“They know the property, they know all the trouble spots, they know each home owner’s preferences,” he says.
“The residents treat them like family,” Kreft says. “They’ve done a great job welcoming us. They know the crew members by name. Some have learned Spanish so they can communicate with them in Spanish. The crew loves teaching them Spanish.”
Morris ducks outside to share Gatorade and cookies with hard-working crews on hot days.
“I hope they know how much we appreciate them,” she says. “Level Green is fantastic. They do all these little details you might not even think about. When they’re plowing they don’t block our mailboxes with snow, so the mailman can get to them. They trim the bushes away from the side of the house by the meter so the meter reader can get to it. It’s that attention to detail that we really appreciate.
“They do the things you should do when no one is looking.”
Ready to take your commercial property to the next level? Contact us today and see how Level Green Landscaping can help.
