ISLANDS

The Hallbrook Landscape Committee renovated ten (10) islands this Spring, along with the Stateline entrance and the 119^th entrance.  Additionally, some minor work was also done on the College Boulevard entrance.  This Fall three (3) additional islands are being renovated with the work anticipated to be completed in mid-October.  Members of the Landscape Committee will work through the Fall and Winter months to evaluate the islands and identify the islands to be renovated for 2018.  To that end, the committee will prepare plant and tree combination with the goal of obtaining competitive bids prior to Spring 2018 so that plant material may be ordered and ready for installation in April.  There has been a lot of consolidation in the wholesale nursery industry and procuring plants and trees for the Hallbrook Community has been challenging.

The islands are prioritized based on the ones in most need of attention, health and structure of existing trees which in many cases are at the end of their useful life and the long-range plan to update all of the landscape islands within the development.  This process will continue until all of the remaining landscape islands have been updated.  An extraordinary amount of time and effort is done during this process to continue maintaining Hallbrook as a premier community and to enhance home values.  Additional items assessed include tree crowding, original over planting, root girdling, life span of the tree, aesthetics and needed updates to a twenty-five-year-old landscape.

STREET TREE PRUNING COMPLETED

During the winter months in early 2017, the street trees were pruned in Phases I, II, III, IV & V of Hallbrook (see site plan on the Hallbrook website or also available at The Tiehen offices).   884 street trees were pruned to raise their canopy and remove the sucker growth.  All of the dead wood was removed from the Pin Oak trees located near Manor south along 118^th Terrace where 32 Oaks were cleaned of all dead wood and canopies raised away from street lights, drives, and walks. These are the oldest street trees in the development and the results gave an attractive and fresh restoration to the neighborhood. In the same neighborhood, it is worth noting that one of the islands, which was in full shade due to the overplanting of trees 25 years ago, also received some much-needed attention.  The monuments were in poor condition and the grass was nonexistent.  The stonework was repaired and cleaned, and trees were removed, which had health or structural issues.  The remaining trees were thinned and shaped.  New topsoil and grass seed was planted to cover the bare areas and new landscape was installed during the Spring 2017 renovation.

In the early winter months of 2018, the street trees for Phase VI & VIII will be pruned and deadwood removed.

ASH TREES – EAB & REPLACEMENT TREES

In August 2017, Ryan Lawn completed the scheduled treatment of the ash trees.  Per the Hallbrook plan regarding the emerald ash borer (EAB) treatment, certain ash trees with health and structural issues are not treated for EAB. Replacement of those ash trees as they die due to age or damage continues.   Currently, an inventory of proposed replacements for Fall 2017 is being prepared for bid.  Additionally, the structure and health of the ash trees around the circle have deteriorated and those trees will be replaced in Spring 2018.

 BERM EROSION AND PLANTINGS

 The new trees and shrubs on the berm continue to thrive and we experienced the beautiful blossoms of the some of the trees and plantings during the Spring and Summer.  The berm is getting the ground plane reestablished with grass seed and sod, as well as groundcover plantings where there is too much shade for grass to grow.  This effort will continue for the next couple of years until the groundcover areas are established.

SEASONAL COLOR

Fall planting of the pots around the circle and the pots located at two of the entrances will occur the week of October 16^th to add interest to the common area as we move into the Fall and Winter months. The landscape committee will work through the Fall and Winter to compile the palette and plantings for the seasonal color for Spring and Summer 2018.  With the luck of the weather this last Summer and the plant selection, the color from the annuals brought a wonderful addition to the boulevards and helped make Hallbrook an exciting and special neighborhood to visit and live.

OTHER COMMON AREAS

The new landscape plantings in 2014 along Brookwood and Overbrook continued to fill in this Summer.  The structure and shape of the shrubs are starting to flourish to their full potential with a more uniform appearance and consistent massing from island to island.  The understory plantings add a variety of color and texture.     Overall maintenance is ongoing as well as an assessment for maintenance of the 34 monuments and walls, 60 stone mailboxes, 6 security cameras, 444 light poles, the guard house and the fountain. While the Japanese beetle appeared to be worse this past Summer, the common area experienced only minor damage with the exception of the Linden trees, which had noticeable late season foliage damage visible to the canopies.  Hallbrook has also been treating for the sawfly on the moneywort ground cover (aka creeping jenny).

RESIDENT LANDSCAPE OVERHANG

It would be helpful if all residents checked their trees and shrubs for overhang into the right of way and sidewalks.  If your trees or shrubs overhang or obstruct the sidewalks, please pruned back appropriately.  Your attention to this is very much appreciated.