Homeowner Associations (HOA’s) need to straighten their act out. It has been six months since the end of hurricane season, and you can still see the damage from tropical storm force winds. The frontage of this community has over 15 trees damaged by storm winds. This length of time and the new growth on these sadly leaning oak trees means that the trees have recovered from the storm and are being forced to live out their lives crooked. Not straightening these healthy trees means that eventually they will be expensively replaced (just from the HOA embarrassment of how they look – “Hey Joe, you know your trees are growing crooked?) and the initial hundreds of thousands of dollars landscape cost of purchasing the trees, installation, labor, irrigation, and maintenance afterwards will have been wasted.

After the storm, a certified arborist should have assessed the trees immediately to determine if they can be salvaged by root pruning and staking through the next hurricane season. That will help the trees survive to grow aesthetically healthy.

This situation should have been resolved earlier. Why hasn’t the landscape company that mows the property come forward to say that straightening the trees needs to happen? It is an opportunity for landscape maintenance companies to earn more money for repairing the landscape beds that they maintain. One week after the hurricane damage, those trees should have been straightened and followed up with an arborist’s oversight to see that they were okay. Cities and counties that impose stringent development regulations prior to a storm will be able to assess the damage in their communities following the storm. They can remind builders and HOAs that new development landscapes are affected and insist on timely corrective actions.

Even if cities do not straighten their own signs.

How are you doing? Two hurricanes in the first two weeks of October – we haven’t seen that in Florida ever, and it’s worse further north in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and surrounding border states. This is a month for recovery for millions. With the deluge of over 15” of rainfall in some areas, the loss of thousands of trees, and flooding still affecting Florida, gardening may not be on your to-do list.

Take a deep breath, do what you need to do to take care of your property and you. All those that have been devastated in North, South, and west coast of Florida, know that you are in Lizzie’s and my prayers. Check in with us on our Facebook page. Send us your photos, questions, and comments.

Take advantage of Summit Mosquito Bits and Dunks in stagnant waters around your home, and Green Armor Shield to prevent mosquito bites while working out in your yard. It prevents mosquitos from biting you through your clothing, shoes, tents, out in the woods, clearing out your brush and fallen trees.

If you need help with your landscape, here are a few resources:

• Find a certified arborist or check credentials: https://bit.ly/483PJKI

• Talk to your local County Extension Office: https://bit.ly/30CvrVh

• Disaster Relief and Recovery:  https://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/

It’s been a chaotic month, so keep focused on yourself, family, home, and what you need. If you do need a break and you have gardening questions, especially about your landscape issues, hope you will listen to Better Lawns and Gardens every Saturday morning 7am to 9am on your iHeart station or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

My design tips will be back next month with special emphasis on recovery. Send me your questions, thoughts, or ideas you would like.

Hope everything is back to normal for you and Florida soon. Take care,