Spring is a time to start anew–and to observe the importance of lawns in our daily lives and environment. April is even designated as National Lawn Care Month. There is a lot to do to awaken the landscape from its winter slumber and to prepare the grounds for the inevitable wet weather that comes with springtime. It's also a good time to spruce up your common areas, such as lawns, decks, fences and parking areas.

Get a Head Start

Unfortunately, if your homeowner association doesn't already have a landscaping company or wants to hire one but hasn't started the process yet, you're a tad behind already.

"Most associations will hire a landscaping firm by the end of the year and service will then start in the spring," says Rick Fry, a principal with RCP Management Company in Princeton. "It takes time to develop a set of specs for landscaping services and have them reviewed and approved by the board, send for bids, receive proposals and put them into a spreadsheet, and complete background checks and interviews," he continues. "All of this is usually completed the year prior to when you anticipate performing the service."

But it's better late than never though, so start your search for a landscaping professional by checking with your local Builders Association, Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. You can also check the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (www.njlca.org) for names of firms near you.

Keep in mind that some companies specialize in one area of lawn care and some may do much more than just the usual care and maintenance of lawns and greenery, but you may not necessarily need one company that does everything. Be honest and up-front about the jobs your association needs to have done, and make sure you see examples of the work that they have completed.

Masters of Mulch

The responsibilities of your HOA's chosen landscaping company are usually outlined and overseen by your property manager.

"It's important for the managers to know what their landscaping contractors are doing throughout the entire season in order to keep the residents and board informed," says Doug Wood, of The Brickman Group in Bound Brook. "Over the winter, we spend much of our time planning what services are going to be carried out and how they are going to be done in order to achieve the goals of both the association and the homeowners. Once this planning is completed, the job supervisor should sit down with the property manager and discuss the schedule to make sure it works for all parties."

In addition to this list, the landscaping firm and the property manager should also take an unhurried walk around the property and draw up a comprehensive list of what needs to be done. Look up and down: perhaps there were problems caused by winter's harsh weather conditions. Are there cracks in the walkway? Broken spots on the fence? Do the trees need pruning? Check any irrigation systems, lawn ornaments and structures—including gazebos and benches—for damage. Inspect the stairs and handrails, gutters, decks and the parking lots as well. If the gutters are clogged with leaves and other debris left over from the fall, when the spring thaw and hard rains come–they may backup or overflow–and that could cause huge problems. Windows, however, are usually the homeowner's responsibility.

Walking through the entire property will help you to determine what needs fixing, cleaning, repainting and or replanting.

Project Planning

"All services should be specified with performance time frames, giving consideration to weather," says Michael Branch, chief operating officer of DuBrow's in Livingston. "Monthly reports should be issued to the association manager or landscaping committee as to what took place and when."

According to Wood, the bulk of horticultural landscaping operations occur in the first couple of months of spring. "We will come in after the threat of any more snow accumulation and do a spring cleanup of the community, which usually includes removing any sticks and branches and leaf and garbage buildup that has accumulated over the winter. Once that's completed, we start addressing the needs of the beds," says Wood, who also explains that this pre-work on the beds, as well as application of a fertilizer, are done before the focus moves to mowing, turf applications and seasonal color.

Spring is also the time to protect the lawn against crabgrass and insects, even before they rear their ugly heads. "Due to the excessive crabgrass problem over the last couple of years, we have altered our program from one application in April to a split application," says Wood. "One prior to mid-April and following up with another in May. Not only does this method provide better crabgrass control, but we can kill three birds with one stone by including broadleaf weed control and fertilizer to the second application."

Other Considerations

You may not see the bugs just yet, but April showers bring May flowers–as well as insects hankering for a huge spring feast.

"The spring is a great time to control or prevent insect damage on plant material and turf areas," says Wood. "An application of dormant oil is a great way to reduce the amount of damage you may get to the ornamental plants in the landscape and reduced the amount of pesticides that need to be sprayed throughout the season.

And what is a well-manicured lawn without some color? Decorative plantings are a great way to beautify your neighborhood and create community appeal, and spring is the time for most plantings.

"Many associations like to see color at each of the entrances, around the clubhouse and around the pool," says Wood. "Hopefully, bulbs were planted in the fall so you can enjoy color immediately in the early spring. Annuals, such as petunias, impatiens, begonias and salvia need to be planted after the threat of frost. Most growers recommend planting in our area no earlier than mid-May. Annuals will fill in to make a sea of color and will last until frost in the fall. Including accent plants such as cannas, banana plants, elephant ears and grasses will add a lot of character to your displays and make them really stand out to homeowners and people passing by."

Remember that not all of the maintenance on your list is done yearly. "You're going to have the excess salt/sand clean-up which is fairly standard," says Branch, "but things like cleaning or painting fences, siding or the building are usually done only every four to five years."

The cost of a property's yearly maintenance varies, depending on the size of the association, Branch continues. "Sites that have been cleaned in the fall and policed in the winter months will require less time in the spring."

The Cost of Clean-up

When bidding on a job, the landscaping professionals take into consideration the number of "turf acres," or grass, versus the amount of total acres that includes building and roads. For example, bids for a 10-turf acre community can range from $24,000 to $52,000 per season, which includes more than turf applications and grass cutting.

Many communities take advantage of a multi-year contract because they can lock in pricing," says Fry, "however, every legal agreement has terms for cancellation. There is a benefit of a fixed price, but if you're not happy with the service your HOA is getting and want to change to a different landscaping company, you still have that out."

"One of the main reasons we see landscape companies lose contracts for maintenance is because they are not in front of the customer often enough," says Wood. "We always stress the importance of being in front of the clients to our on-site supervisors. Some prefer monthly or weekly meetings and some require daily contact. The value in these meetings is to not only keep the manager, the board and the community informed, but to discuss any additional work that needs immediate attention or the opportunity to do improvement projects in the future."

Once you've established a good working relationship with a landscaping company, your board and management should check in frequently with your landscaping professionals and keep lines of communication open. With teamwork and cooperation, your association's grounds will be the envy of your neighbors and a pleasure for your residents and visitors alike.

Lisa Iannucci is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to The New Jersey Cooperator.