Arbor Grove is a thriving community. We have good, caring neighbors and many opportunities for activity if we choose to join; we have a well-kept, clean pool, and a lovely community space for social gatherings… all in all, we have a wonderful place to call home.

 

All of this is thanks to the many, many neighbors who volunteer their expertise and time. The Board of Directors, the Maintenance, Finance, Pool, and Social committees. This article, however, is going to focus on landscaping, and the many hands it takes to keep our properties looking so nice.

 

Is everything perfect? Seldom, but we have a team here in Arbor Grove that tries very hard to make it so. Budgets. Now there’s a troubling word. Rising taxes. rising insurance. rising labor, materials, etc., etc.  Here in the Grove, we have come to expect a certain standard, verdant, dandelion-free lawns, manicured shrubbery, healthy trees, yet this all comes at a cost.  

 

As homeowners we understand the balance between what we Want, and what we are willing to afford.  Our landscape committee has been meeting the challenge of keeping the budget under control while still maintaining our grounds in the beautiful condition we see today.  One way of achieving this is by asking for a little help, reminding each homeowner that WE, are each, “responsible for maintaining our own property to be aesthetically pleasing to the community.”  This means our rocky areas should be free from weeds.  Yes, the developers used to take care of that, but those days are past.   Therefore, rather than putting even more pressure on an already strained budget, your board and landscaping committee are asking for us all to do our part. It is a small job, a little bottle of ‘SPRUCE’ sprayed on those tough thistles, a few minutes of picking, and voila!  A tidy backdrop for your pretty potted plants.   For those that are physically unable to maintain their small areas, the landscape committee can arrange for a volunteer to help out.

 

Arbor Grove is an attractive and harmonious place to live; because we are good neighbors, we are a community, people willing to work for a common goal.

 

   * Spruce is a recommended weed killer that is safe around children and pets, available locally at Ace, Meijer, other stores in and around Bourbonnais.