Subdivision Entrance Signs Are Diverse, Beautiful

How many times do you drive in and out of your community and never really notice the entrance?

There are some entrances that have tiny signs with the name of the community that never gets noticed. Some don’t have any signs at all. Then there are grand entrances that shout who they are to everyone that drives past. Some have a few shrubs and flowers and some really put on a show.

One such entrance that is beautifully landscaped and has won a citation award is the main entrance to Eastern Shores Estates. You can’t miss the large brick pergola with the bright annual begonias and perennial daylilies planted around the base. What a welcoming sight!

Another entrance that is equally nice is Key Harbour Estates, set high on a hillside with its many shrubs and perennials to give color throughout the year.

I can’t count how many times I’ve passed the Locksley Manor sign and wondered what was back there—could it be Robin Hood? Their sign is located at the beginning of a wooded lane that I’ve always found intriguing but never had time to venture down until last week. The Locksley Manor entrance sign is not as grand a scale as Eastern Shores Estates or Key Harbour Estates but because of the lush landscaping and colorful flowers, it has always caught my eye.

The Moorings Estates entrance has the large stone wall and sign but is lacking in colorful plant material. The side gardens have many roses and perennials help to add color to the entire entrance. Waterford Villas center island entrance has colorful annual Petunias planted and is maintained by one of their residents. It is not irrigated so watering is a chore in itself.

The entrances to Ballantrae and Breckenridge have beautiful stone or brick signs with evergreen shrubs and spruces behind each. I have noticed that annual flowers have been struggling with the hot weather this year. Enriching the soil with compost and consistent irrigation will prove beneficial for annuals that need sufficient nutrition to grow quickly in one season, where as trees, shrubs and perennials can dig deeper into the ground for their nutritional and water needs.

Bent Oak Entrance has a raised bed that includes ornamental grasses, Asiatic lily perennials that are spring bloomers and geranium annuals that will continue to bloom all through the summer. The sign alone will certainly let people know the name of the apartment complex but the addition of the raised bed and planting annuals and perennials adds interest and color that it otherwise would not have had.

Community entrances are funded by their homeowners association fees and quite often require volunteers from that community to keep it maintained. When budgets are tight, landscaping common ground with annuals gets cut. But remember that first impressions are important and this is the welcoming mat to your community. Whether the entrance to your community is large or small doesn’t matter, but keeping it maintained and weed free shows that the homeowners take pride in where they live.

So keep up the good work on your community welcome mat and thank those residents that work so very hard to keep them maintained.

If you are interested in gardening, learning about gardening or joining a garden club, stop by the Community Association Clubhouse, the second Monday morning of each month and sit in on a meeting of the Jardin du Lac Garden Club. Meetings start at 9:30 a.m.

If you have a beautifully landscaped yard or have unique garden ornaments that you are proud of and would like to see featured on Patch.com, or have any gardening questions, contact Peggy at Bahrmasel@msn.com.