1. home and garden

Bakers Branch Bulletin
April 2015
Bakers Branch Estates Homeowners Association, Inc.
www.bakersbranchhoa.com
www.bakersbranchestates.nextdoor.com
Neighbors,
It is so nice seeing the sun, enjoying some beautiful spring weather,
and watching all the trees and flowers blooming! We hope you and
your family have been out and about the neighborhood enjoying some
time outdoors.
Please take a look at page 4 of the newsletter to see changes in water
heater standards that take effect this month; you may want to consider
replacing an aging water heater before those go into effect.
With spring weather upon us, please remember to slow down while
Dates to Remember:
Sat, April 11,
8:00AM to Noon
Garage Sale
Sat., April 18,
8:30AM to 1:00PM
KFMB Environmental Fair
Sun, April 19,
6:30AM to 10:00AM
Caveman Triathlon
Mon, April 20, 7:00PM
Board Meeting
driving through the neighborhood, watching for kids out playing and
riding bikes. The Board is working with the Town to arrange
having a speed monitor set up in the neighborhood, as well.
“Concerts in the Park” presented at Heritage Park by the Flower Mound
Parks Department will be held during the month of May on Friday
nights from 7 to 9 PM. For more information, visit
www.flower-mound.com/concerts.
Please feel free to contact us any time with questions, concerns, ideas,
or suggestions. Thanks!
Your HOA Board
Sat, May 30, 7-9PM
Block Party at CAC
Yard of the Month
KFMB Trash-Off
Garage Sale
Caveman Triathlon
2
Calloway’s Coupon
Bakers Branch Outstanding Kid
3
Contact Info
Water Heater Changes
Notes
4
Block Party—Saturday, May 30, 7-9PM
Save the date! We have rented the CAC outdoor water park after
hours — so it will only be open for us, Bakers Branch — on Saturday, May
30th, from 7:00 to 9:00PM. Feel free to bring your own food and drink;
just no alcohol or glass containers, please. We will provide some dessert
and beverages, and are so excited to offer this fun
event!
Thank you to Direct Energy for sponsoring our block
parties this year!
Bakers Branch Bulletin
April 2015
Page 2
Bakers Branch OutstandingYard
Bakers Branch OutstandingYard
January - Fletcher - 1304 Ginger
March - Williams - 1420 Currant Way
To recommend a neighbor’s yard for the Yard of the Month award, please contact Jennifer
Speer at [email protected]. Winners receive a $25 gift card from Calloway’s!
KFMB.org Spring Trash-Off & Fair—Sat., April 18
Keep Flower Mound Beautiful is hosting their annual Spring Trash Off & Environmental /
Health Fair on Saturday, April 18, at Home Depot (852 Long Prairie Rd; at FM 2499 &
Lakeside). Register for the Community Clean Up portion at kfmb.org to get your free t-shirt,
lunch provided by In & Out Burgers, and prizes for most trash & recyclables collected.
* Community Clean-up (8:30 AM to 11:00 AM)
* Environmental / Health Fair (10:00 AM to 1:00 PM)
*Kids’ Activities, Workshop, Inflatable Slide & Rockwall
*Cintas Document Shredding for Flower Mound residents
*Best Buy electronic waste collection / recycling
*CCA collecting lightly used clothes & housewares
* Blood drive by Carter Blood Care
*Trinity Forks Native Plant Society Plant Sale (over 60 plant species!)
Garage Sale
Caveman Triathlon
Saturday, April 11,
8:00 AM to Noon
Volunteers Needed!!
Neighborhood-wide Garage Sale
We will post signs and place ads on
Craig’s List and in the newspaper.
Feel free to put a sign at the end of your
street to help direct traffic to your sale on that
day; please pick up signs by end of day.
Have fun!
Sunday, April 19, 6:30AM to
10:00AM
If you would like to help man a water
station, handing out water to the triathlon
participants for the Caveman Triathlon
(hosted at the CAC), please let us know as
soon as possible.
We are looking for 3 more volunteers to help
handle two water stations along the running
trail in Heritage Park. Thank you!
April 2015
Page 3
Calloway’s Timely Tips— April
It’s time to get out your gardening tools and get moving! Calloway’s is fully stocked
with all kinds of plants and products for the itchy green thumb. This year consider
adding Native Plants to your landscape. Native plants tolerate our Texas summer
heat better than most, require less water, require less mowing, provide habitats for
birds, butterflies and other wildlife, protect the soil and save on fertilizers and
insecticides.
A successful garden begins with good soil. Organic material is important to the soil composition. It
helps with drainage and increases the microbe population. Expanded shale is used to break up hard
compacted clay soils. Top dress your flowerbeds and containers with organic mulches.
Hopefully you have your tomatoes, peppers, squash, and other warm season vegetables already planted; if not get them in the ground right away. To get the highest yields, make additions of fertilizer (called
sidedressing) every couple of weeks, starting about a month after transplanting or seeding. If your yard
is too small for a traditional garden plot, try gardening in containers. The bigger the container, the better! Container gardens need more attention since they dry out faster and need regular
additions of fertilizer to compensate for the more frequent irrigation.
If you want to create a truly dynamic garden, inviting colorful guests like butterflies and hummingbirds is
definitely the way to go. Butterflies like sunshine and plenty of space to fly around, so opt for a sunny,
open spot. Both enjoy having some type of cover as a resting spot. Your garden should include some
type of water feature as butterflies and hummingbirds often congregate around water. St. Augustine and
Bermuda lawns should be actively growing now; so it is a great time to apply fertilizer. Please consult
your Calloway / Cornelius Nursery for the best fertilizer advice for your lawn. A correctly fertilized lawn
now will better help your lawn to handle the Texas Summer Heat!
In-Store Garden Series
Sat, April 4th at 10:15 am – Lavish, Colorful, Stylish Shade Gardens
Sat, April 11th at 10:15 am – Plant for Butterfly & Hummingbird Gardens
Sat, April 18th at 10:15 am – Native Plants for Texas Gardens
Sat, April 25th at 10:15 am – Easy Care Flowers, Top Picks, Proven Winners
Information courtesy of Calloway’s Nursery ©2015, www.calloways.com.
Bakers Branch Outstanding “Kid”
Congratulations to Austin McKee on attaining the rank of Eagle
Scout after only four years in scouting with Troop 451. He built a
backyard shed for a Habitat for Humanity Home as his Eagle Scout
project. During his four years of working towards his Eagle Scout
rank, Austin was a FMHS football player (starting Varsity linebacker
his senior year & awarded Second Team Academic
All-State and District 6-6A Honorable Mention at outside
linebacker). He has been selected as a Distinguished Scholar at
the University of Oklahoma for the Fall of 2015
and plans to major in Petroleum Engineering.
Get your
Calloway’s
Coupon for $10
off $50 purchase.
April 2015
Page 4
Mailing address:
1221 Flower Mound Rd
Ste 320, PMB 129
Flower Mound, TX 75028
E-mail: [email protected]
Your HOA Board
Melanie Carr, President, 214-450-7612
Dennis Cox, Vice President
Dan Millner, ACC Chair
Christy Allen, Secretary
Jennifer Speer, Landscape Chair
Carter Strey, Treasurer
Wʇ’ʔʇ ʑʐ ʖʊʇ Wʇʄ:
Wʙʙ.ʄʃʍʇʔʕʄʔʃʐʅʊʊʑʃ.ʅʑ
If you are looking for information about the
homeowners association, including our
Covenants, Codes & Restrictions (CC&R’s),
Bylaws, Architectural Control Committee (ACC)
contacts or guidelines, Board member contacts,
upcoming events/dates, check our website often
for current information. Also, we keep a
neighborhood database of email addresses for use
in distributing neighborhood information,
neighborhood watch alerts, etc. and if you would
like to be added to that database (we will keep
your email address confidential), please send your
information to [email protected].
Changes in Water Heater Standards Coming This Month!
New federal efficiency standards for water heaters go into effect April 16, and the
new standards will make all units larger and heavier. This means new units may no
longer fit through fold-down attic stairs or through doors of dedicated closets (thus
requiring modifications for installation).
At least several of us have replaced water heaters recently, and neighbors who
haven’t done so yet, might consider going ahead and purchasing the old style and
having that installed before current units are unavailable.
Here is an article with more details about the new standards.
The Town of Flower Mound does require a permit for replacing water heaters.
Doggie Clean Up
Dilapidated Fences
Please be kind and pick up
after your pet whether they
do their business on the
greenbelt (where the kids
like to run and play) or in a
neighbor’s yard (even
worse). Please think of
others coming along after,
so they do not have to deal
with the mess left behind.
Thank you for being
mindful, carrying along a doggie bag, and
considering your neighbors and friends in this
process.
The Town of Flower Mound states that fences
should be maintained in good condition,
without deteriorated, broken, or missing
pickets. Posts and rails should also be in good
condition. Fences cannot be propped up or
lean 10 or more degrees. A fence permit is
required from Building Inspections when
replacing posts or rails,
changing the fence
height, or moving a
fence from its current
location. For more
information, see the
Town’s website.