Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Maintaining a healthy, attractive yard is a year-round project. And its always good to know that when theres a task that requires equipment you do not have on hand, you can count on your local Home Depot. Whether youre trying to keep up your homes curb appeal or complete a commercial landscaping project, you can find any lawn equipment rental you may need at The Home Depot Tool Rental Center. For basic lawn care, you can rent everything from mowers and edgers to trimmers, pruners and blowers to keep your lawn the envy of the neighborhood. If youre a gardener or urban farmer, renting a tiller will help make easy work of soil prep. From light duty tillers for small gardens to mid-tine tillers for rocky, compacted soil or rear-tine tillers to plow up large gardens or your entire yard for grass seeding, weve got the equipment you need to whip your lawn or garden into shape. And, for the heavy duty yard work like brush, tree or stump removal, you can rent chainsaws, bush hogs, chippers, stump grinders and lots of other tools to do the job right. The next time you need equipment to tackle yard work around your home, check out the Tool Rental Center at your local Home Depot store.

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Lawn & Garden Equipment Rentals - Tool Rental - The Home Depot

Fall is a great time to create new garden beds. Cool, usually drier, fall weather makes it easier to work in the garden and for plants to establish. Plus, the Garden To-do list is often a bit shorter this time of year and you will get a head start on the next growing season.

Start by locating the placement, size and shape of this new garden. Always contact your local underground utility locating service at least three business days in advance. Its free and as easy as calling 811 or filing an online request. They will contact the appropriate companies who will mark the location of their underground utilities in your work area. This reduces the danger and inconvenience of accidently knocking out power, cable or other utilities while you create a beautiful landscape.

Use a rope or hose to outline the area. Avoid tight corners or creating narrow grass borders that will be difficult to mow or require hand trimming.

Once satisfied with the layout, take a soil test and decide how to kill the existing lawn and weeds as needed. A soil test will tell you how much and what type of fertilizer you will need for the plants you are growing. Testing now means you will have the information in hand when it is time to fertilize in spring.

Your efforts this fall reduce your workload next spring and shorten the time to a more beautiful landscape.

Next edge the bed. Use a shovel to dig a V-shaped trench around the border of the garden. Or rent or borrow a power edger to make larger jobs easier.

Once the edging is complete, remove healthy grass with a sod cutter and use it to fill bare spots in the lawn. Or create a planting berm or simply add it to the compost pile. Just place it green side down and wait for it to decompose.

Another method for clearing the grass is to cover the area with cardboard topped with several inches of organic mulch and wait for the grass and cardboard to decompose. You can push back the mulch and cut through the cardboard to plant immediately. Or wait to begin planting next spring after the grass and cardboard have broken down completely.

For quicker results and control of perennial weeds, try a total vegetation killer. These products kill the top and roots of the good and bad plants they touch. Read and follow label directions carefully. Start your soil preparation after the required waiting period has passed.

The next step, an important one, is soil improvement. It is easier to repair and improve the soil before you plant. Plus, time spent now yields years of good results. Add two to four inches of organic matter like aged manure, peat moss or leaf compost to the top 8 to 12 inches of soil. These materials improve the drainage in heavy clay soil and increase the water holding ability in fast draining sandy or rocky soils.

Check the labeling on the bag when purchasing these products. Make sure the product you select is USDA and STA certified to ensure quality. USDA BioPreferred certified products are derived from plants and other renewal products, providing an alternative to petroleum-based goods. Look for United States Composting Councils STA certified compost that is a renewable, consistent, high quality product made from locally available organic material.

Once you mix in the organic matter, rake the garden level and smooth. Your garden is ready to plant. Fill it with spring flowering bulbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs this fall. Or cover it with shredded leaves or other organic mulch to suppress weeds and prevent soil erosion. Use the winter to plan the garden so you will be ready to plant once spring arrives.

In either case, your efforts this fall reduce your workload next spring and shorten the time to a more beautiful landscape.

Gardening expert Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. Myers is the host of The Great Courses How to Grow Anything DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melindas Garden Moment TV & radio segments. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers website is http://www.melindamyers.com.

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Melinda Myers: Create new garden beds this fall - The Union of Grass Valley

ADAMS COUNTY September is an ideal time to reseed thinning patches in your lawn or to establish a new lawn. At this time of year, the warm soil and the longer, cooler nights help prevent the seedlings from drying out as quickly and allow rapid root growth.

For our area, a mixture of perennial ryegrass/fescue/Kentucky bluegrass is recommended. Perennial ryegrass is very quick to germinate and is capable of going from scattered seed to mow-able lawn in about 21 days. It provides shade and protection to the other grass species like Kentucky bluegrass, which can take up to three weeks to get started. Fescue is heat and drought tolerant. Turf-type tall fescues have a wider leaf blade than fine fescues and are often used in seed blends where a shade loving, slow-growing or drought-resistant turf is desired. Fescues require much less water and nutrients to thrive than traditional lawn grasses like Kentucky bluegrass. Kentucky bluegrass is a cool-season grass that grows best during the fall, winter, and spring months when temperatures are cool. During the summer months if stressed for water, Kentucky bluegrass can go dormant.

Fescues and perennial ryegrass are drought tolerant and can handle heat traffic (such as dogs and kids) well. The blend of grasses provides a good mix to obtain a healthy green turf. It is recommended to use certified seed.

Steps for Renovating a Lawn. Improve thin areas by:

o Aerating, raking out dead grass.

o Overseeding, applying lawn patch products.

o Top-dressing the area with about compost.

o Keep seeded area moist.

Steps for Planting a New Lawn (Seeding):

o Get a soil test to know if any amendments are needed.

o Apply any amendments and weed-free compost over the area to be seeded.

o Rototill the site to a depth of 4-6 inches and remove rocks, clods, sticks, and other debris. Note: do not rototill wet soil.

o Rent a lawn rake/roller. Divide the seed in two parts. Apply one half (at 2 - 3 lb seed/1000 sq. ft) in one direction. Apply the second half at a right angle to the first part.

o Rake and then roll the seeded area.

o Cover lightly with a layer of mulch.

o Keep area moist until seedlings have been established (2-3 weeks).

Steps for Planting a New Lawn (Sod):

o Sod usually comes in 3-foot sections, 18 inches wide, with less than -inch of soil attached.

o Choose high quality sod that is actively growing.

o Prepare the soil as in the steps above for planting a new lawn, rototilling the area and removing any rocks, debris, etc.

o Start laying the sod along a straight edge such as next to a driveway or sidewalk.

o Unroll sod pieces tightly against each other but do not overlap.

o Using a sharp knife, cut sod pieces to fit curves or small areas.

o After the sod has been installed, roll it to ensure good contact with the soil.

o Irrigate with about one inch of water to achieve complete wetting of the sod and at least one inch of soil.

o After watering, lift up edges of sod at several locations to be sure water has penetrated the sod and soil below.

o Continue watering one or two times a day to prevent sod from wilting and keep the soil moist. As sod becomes established, gradually reduce the frequency of watering.

o Do not saturate the sod and soil to the point of standing water. New roots could begin to rot under these conditions. After sod has been mown two or three times, water deeply and infrequently depending on the weather conditions.

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Now is the time to renovate - Ritzville Adams County Journal

The year 2020 is definitely one for the history books. COVID-19, murder hornets, Hurricane Laura and now Hurricane Sally hitting our Gulf neighbors to the east.This week is no exception for our losses. LSU AgCenter offices across the state are getting call after call as lawn after lawn is experiencing devastating loss of turfgrass.Sod webworms are the main culprit this year, and fittingly, our weed and turfgrass extension specialist Ron Strahan said, The numbers are biblical. We have observed nearly every house on a single street with damage in the lawn. Cue the locusts.You might first take notice of the small moths that are light brown to dark brown with striping on the wings. You will see them flying around as you walk through your lawn or around outdoor lights at night. This is the adult of the sod webworm. The moths lay eggs on grass blades.Larvae hatch a week or so later, maturing into adult moths in three to five weeks. There can be two or more generations each year. Larvae are amber in color but become greener as they feed on the blades of grass at nighttime. They are the cause of the damage we see in the lawn.If you missed the moths but are seeing yellowing and browning patches of dead lawn, you need to inspect further to determine if it is sod webworms. One way to tell is to investigate individual grass blades. They will have a chewed appearance, with pieces of blades missing or chunks bitten out. The caterpillars are making a feast of your lawn.Another clue to look for while you are down there at ground level is the worm castings. Thats a fancy term for caterpillar poop. The castings are digested grass, and they appear as light beige pellets at the base of the plants just above the soil level.Yet another sign are the webs that are visible in the early morning when the dew is still on the ground. The water droplets from the dew will be trapped in the webbing, and this is where sod webworms get their name.If you dig thoroughly enough at the soil-grass interface, you can usually find a tiny caterpillar about - to 1-inch long and the diameter of Q-tip and the castings of the insect. Sod webworms seem to especially love St. Augustine grass.Heavy infestations can cause a feeding frenzy of birds to the lawn. If youve noticed more birds pecking around in your turfgrass, its usually an indicator that some good food nutritious sod webworm caterpillars is out there.Heavy infestations can lead to stress, causing your lawn to be more susceptible to fungal diseases such as gray leaf spot and large patch in addition to other insects such as chinch bugs and armyworms. A combination of these problems can lead to the death of turfgrass.To help control sod webworms, use an insecticide with the active ingredient bifenthrin. AgCenter entomologist Sebe Brown recommends liquid rather than granular applications for better control. You will need to retreat the lawn again in seven days to kill any newly hatched eggs. Spray will not control the moths. It is most effective on the main culprit doing the damage the caterpillar.Treat the infested areas and extend 3 to 4 feet past where you see browning. Moths will continue to lay eggs, so continue to monitor the lawn.Eggs hatch every seven days. The hopefully cooler weather of fall will slow down the generation interval but not kill the worms already in the lawn. Last years mild and short winter is likely the cause of the large populations weve seen this summer.If you are like me, you dont like to use chemicals because insecticides dont discriminate for the most part and will kill other beneficial bugs. You can let Mother Nature help you out with the birds who feast on the caterpillars instead.Additionally, consider transitioning large areas of lawn to garden beds that you fill with native plants or other ornamental perennials, shrubs and trees. Lawns, mainly turfgrass, account for 30% of water use in a typical U.S. home, so go easy on the turf in home landscapes. With water scarcity on the horizon, by reducing the size of your lawn you can reduce water consumption, water bills and the amount of time you spending mowing your grass; save fuel; lessen your carbon footprint; and expand natural ecosystems by adding diversity to your landscape.The good news, if there is any, is that the grass will recover from live stolons and roots. Water your lawn during extended periods of drought that are especially common in October here in Louisiana to help the grass recover before going into winter dormancy.Its also time to stop fertilizing the lawn and wait until spring to apply any new applications.

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Get It Growing: Sod woes | St. Mary Now - daily-review.com

When you were on your tractor last summer mowing the roadside you may have noticed a bobwhite quail run across the road, you might have been excited to see it too. What you probably didnt notice was the covey of quail chicks that you mowed right over the top of. Thats the unfortunate thing about quail, their survival strategy is to lay low and only flush when necessary. For quail, the number one cause of population declines is habitat loss; with an average lifespan of only 8 months, its crucial to provide quail with the habitat they need to make it through the season to reproduce next year. One of the best ways we can do that is by leaving our roadsides, waterways and idle areas alone.

In intensively farmed areas like where we live, some of the last habitat we have is in the roadside ditches. When you mow a roadside, not only are you potentially killing quail outright, but youre knocking out a valuable food source wildflowers. These plants attract insect pollinators which make up over 90% of the quail chicks diet for the first several weeks of their life. Later in the year, these wildflowers will go to seed and provide a crucial food source for the quail in the winter.

Mowing also knocks down crucial habitat and cover for quail. In order to make it through the winter with the snow, ice, rain and wind, quail require adequate cover from the elements. Ideally, this cover comes in two forms. Native bunch grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem, and Indiangrass. Non-native grasses such as brome and fescue are detrimental to wildlife habitat because these are sod forming grasses and are very difficult for quail (especially chicks) to move through. Brome and fescue also choke out and out compete beneficial wildflowers which decreases plant diversity. The other type of cover quail need is brush such as dogwood or American Plum. Brush not only provides critical cover for quail during the winter, but it serves as hiding grounds from aerial predators like hawks and owls. On top of that, shrubs like American Plum, Elderberry, and even Sumac (Sumac tea is a wonderful drink to try) provide valuable fruit for people too.

You may be noticing a common theme between what I wrote this week with quail and previously with monarch butterflies. LEAVE THE ROADSIDES ALONE! Its one of the simplest things we can do to boost quail and songbird numbers and help our pollinators out too. It saves us time and money and its an easy step in conserving habitat. Thats not to say that spraying and mowing roadsides and idle areas never has its place. There are instances where we need to use those management practices for the greater good. For instance, invasive species such as Johnsongrass and Sericea Lespedeza pose a much greater threat to habitat than mowing or spraying. Even brome and fescue, which I mentioned as being wildlife unfriendly could be sprayed and planted to native plants to improve habitat for wildlife. Save those practices for when its necessary. If you do need to spray, resort to spot spraying to minimize killing of non-target species. If you want to mow the roadside by your house, consider mowing a single pass, wait until after nesting season to mow, and dont mow the grass any shorter than a foot. That way, the next time youre out on your tractor youll feel a little better when you see that covey of quail.

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Conservation Column: Leave it be | Voices | atchisonglobenow.com - atchisonglobenow.com

GENTLEMEN, lay down your lawnmowers. Theres a new school of thought taking rootan idea that would scrap the Saturday afternoon-killing mow and end the merry-go-round of chemical applications. How? Tear out the grass and replant all or part of your yard with native flora, which requires less water and less maintenance in the long run, and can foster a more functional ecosystem, to boot.

Residential lawnswhich we have 40 million acres ofare thirstier than any agricultural crop. Nationwide, we use 9 billion gallons of water for landscape irrigation each day (and as much as half of that amount is lost to inefficiencies). Many homeowners also spray with broad-spectrum insecticides, which, in addition to their health risks, can kill off the insects responsible for pollinating 90 percent of all flowering plants.

Beyond all that, the cultural relevance of the all-American lawn is an artifact anyway. As pop-historian Yuval Noah Harari has pointed out, sprawling, labor-intensive lawns were essentially a flex by Middle Age aristocrats, who used them as function-free status symbols.

New lawns require new thinking. Douglas Tallamy champions the concept well in Natures Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard (Timber Press). Tallamy, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware, argues that beyond protected public lands, weve overlooked the importance of our own private lands, where residential yards play a key role in supporting a functioning ecosystem.

Our human footprint is so gigantic, Tallamy explains, that we cant say, Well, were going to have a functional ecosystem someplace elsethere is no someplace else.

That doesnt mean ripping out the entire lawn. Tallamy just suggests you avoid planting invasive species that do little to support insect life, the birds that eat those insects, and your local ecosystem.

It may seem cheaper to plant a patch of thirsty sod and to stock your yard with popular plants from the local box store, but, in the long run, a native landscape can actually be less expensive than a highly maintained and traditional lawn. Jack Pizzo, a Chicago landscape architect renowned for planting wildflower meadows in both corporate and residential settings, says that, During the first two, three, four years, its roughly the same cost. After that, your desired plants tend to reproduce, crowding the weeds outit looks good and doesnt require the labor.

To reduce water consumption, municipalities nationwide have rolled out cash for grass programs; the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California recently increased its rebate to $2 per square foot of grass removed. Las Vegas turf rebate has been credited for annually saving 10 billion gallons of water, playing a part in the unlikely rise of Lake Mead, the Wests largest reservoir. Online seminars offering to Convert Your Lawn to Prairie are selling out. Rewilding has become a buzzword in landscaping circles.

Where to start? Look to state and local chapters of Master Naturalists and Native Plant Societies for help and local intel. Check to see if your municipality has incentivized renovations to promote water conservation. And start shopping from sustainable-minded retailers like Native American Seed, a Texas outfit that ships alternatives like buffalo grass and wildflower-and-grass seed mixes.

Were still in the earlier stages of a mass shift, but weve gone beyond the early adopters, says Native American Seeds Bill Neiman about the growth of native and wildlife-centric landscaping. People are awakening to something that weve gone numb on, which is our total interconnectedness to all things.

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Why You Should Kill Your Lawn and Switch to Native Landscaping - Men's Journal

Day Results9 / 3-4-12020 Overall 12381238 / 441-412-510Win % of Top Pick35.62%Payoff % of Top 3 Picks Overall36.70%2020 Top Pick in the Money 805-1,23865.02%Top Selection ITM / CD 86-12270.49%Top Selections Win / CD 45-12236.89%Key Horses @ CD 18-5-5-327.78% Win / 72.22% ITMKey Horses in 2020 168-56-39-2433.33% Win / 70.83% ITM

Only managed three winners out of the 9 races carded on Thursday, but we squeezed out the back door with 6 exactas on the day.

Each $1 played rendered the likes of $11.30, $22.10, $30.70, $32.00, $12.80 and $20.00. No bombs to write home about. But we didnt get bombed out, either.

Looking forward to Friday and a very difficult card. Prices will likely be the norm, IMO.

Heres our looks:

1st: 5-3/1-6/4Reason to Soar (5)comes from the barn of one of 2020s hottest trainers. Has won with .22% this year in 931 previous starts. This one was nipped here last time out. Lost by a head in the final jump. Returns as a beaten favorite and the barn wins with .28% of those kind. Has easy speed and has a 3-2-1 mark in 15 tries at this distance. Looks the best to me, but never won here in 5 previous tries. Vunerable at a short price?Laddie Boy (3)won here last time out, nipping our top pick right the wire. Will have to carry 2 more pounds than the top pick this time around. Could be the difference. Barn wins with .16% of those that won the last time out. Ridder is not having a blast here this meet, with a modest 1 win in 20 starts. Ouch.I bet the 5 to win/place/show and then box the 5-3 in one exacta. I will key the 5 over/under the numbers in twoother exactas.

2nd: 1-3-4/2-6/5Limonite (1)will switch off the turf and back to the main track for this one today. Barn wins with .20% when making this surface switch. Ran 3rd over a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park in the last try over the main track. But has a 1-1-1 record in 4 starts over this dirt track. Gets the barns go-to rider up. Looks the best on paper.Believeinholidays (3)ran 4th against much, much tougher last time out at Ellis Park. Drops for this one and is coming off a brilliant work session here on Sept. 13. Barn has two 3rds in two races this meet. Like the rider choice.Mos Mojo (4)will be making the 3rd start off the layup and has two nice seconds in a row. Could be ready, but only has 1 win in 6 tries here.I bet the 1-4 across the board and then box the top 3 in the exacta. I will key the top 3 numbers over/under the 2-6 in two shorter units.

3rd: 5/7-4-1/6-2/3The firstKey Play ofthe Daycomes here withRhythm Tree (5).This 3YO daughter of Tapiture is coming off a debacle of a race. Lost by 31 lengths. But drops considerably for this one and the race 2 back was solid enough to expect more and improvement. Barn wins with .25% when dropping this much at once. Catches a soft group, too.I bet the 5 to win/place/show and then key the 5 over/under all the numbers listed in the exactas.

4th: 4-7-2/5-3-11-8/6-12-1-10/9Alfons Walde (4)gets the nod here for me. Has run 9 times to date and is still searching for that elusive winners circle photo opportunity. But does have 2 seconds and 3 thirds on the resume. Gets a new rider, who was 4th on this ones back three races ago. Has talent. Beware.Pintxos (7)moves into the claiming ranks for the first time ever and the barn wins with .16% of those. Returns as a beaten favorite, too, and the trainer wins with .29% of those kind. This is one of those kind. Look for more today, too.Ahnaf (2)could spice up the odds rack here. Drops into the claiming ranks for the first time and this one really ran well here on June 26. Off since then, but the words are OK and the barns can surprise. I like this ones chances a bit.I bet the 4-7 across the board and then box the top 3 in the exacta. I will key the top twonumbers over/under the 2-5-3-11-8-6 in two smaller units.

5th: 3-8/7-1/2-4/6-5Tracis Greeley (3)has been a different horse since moving into the barn of John Ortiz back in the early summer months. Since arriving, this one has a win, a second and two thirds in just 4 races total. Moves up in class here and faces winners for the first time. Barn does win with .20% when the horse won the last affair, too. Gets the same rider back. Click factor here.Isabelles Joy (8)tried the turf last time out and that didnt fare too well. Back on the dirt now and the barn wins with .18% of those making this surface switch. In route to sprints, the trainer wins with .13%.I bet the 3 to win/place/show and then box the top 2 in the exacta. I will key the 3-8 over/under the rest of the numbers listed in two smaller units.

6th: 7-5-8/3-1-4/2/(9)Cash Out (7)gets back to the sod today for a barn that wins with .14% of all grass starters. Returns as a beaten favorite, too, and the barn wins with a whopping .31% of those kind. Gets a new rider up, and the jockey has had a very nice summer in KY. Love the last work on Sept. 18. Looks primed for this one.Turtle Trax (5)starter the career with a real bang. After the opener, this 3YO daughter of Cairo Prince won the next two. Ran 5th in the G2 Golden Rod here last Fall. Has 5 starts this year. No wins, but 2 seconds and a third. Looks like she could use the class drop here, too.Teenage Kicks (8)won two races back and has hit the board in 6 of the last 7. The out was a 4th last time out. Faltered in the late going then. Barn wins with .21% in the allowance ranks and this one keeps a dandy rider.I bet the 7-8 across the board and then box the top 3 in the exacta. I will key the top 2 numbers over/under the 8-3-1-4-2. I use the 9 if it goes offthe turf.

7th: 6-3-8/9-7-1-4/2My Man Flintstone (6)won the last time out and wheels right back for a barn that has been hot of late. This 3YO son of Into Mischief has a win and a second in three races over this surface, and is 2-2-0 in 4 starts at the distance. Looks primed.Majestic West (3)has not won here in 4 starts, but has a second and a third. Trainer wins with .19% making the 3rd start off the layup and the rider has teamed up to go 2-0-1 in the last 4 for this barn operation.Mister K (8)won the last time out in July. Got a breather, again, and now comes in here. Love the ML odds and this one is my firstUpset Special ofthe Day.Same guy trains Bells the One. Dont leave out. Im not.I bet the 6-8 across the board and then box the top 3 in one exacta. I key the 6-8 over/under the 3-9-7-1-4-2 in two smaller units.

8th: 3-8-5/7-1-2/4-6Spycraft (3)comes from the barn of Brad Cox. That enough reason to support? Barn has won with .22% this meet and .24% for the year. This one makes the 2020 debut and the first start for this trainer. Barn does very well with the newcomers and this one gets the barns go-to rider up. Big chance here.Kadri (8)comes off a MSW win last time out here on Sept. 5. Rock and rolled in that one and swept to an easy 2-length win. Barn wins with .30% when they move up to face winners for the first time. Rider is red hot. Has gone 7-4-1 in the last 25 mounts. Sharp work on Sept. 20.I bet the 3-8 across the board and then box the top 3 in the exacta. I will key the 3-8 over/underthe 5-7-1-2-4-6 in two smaller units.

9th: 5-8/2-6-3/1-7/4Belle Laura (5)ran 6th in a G2 event last time out and that was the first run off a layup. Before that, this one won the last two at Gulfstream Park. The tough Beau Recall won that last one. In 12 turf races, she has 3 wins and 2 thirds. Has the speed to be close in this one from the get-go. Looks primed.Amazima (8)has a second and third in two starts here. In 11 runs, she has a 3-1-2 mark. Dam of this one has 2 turf winners from 10 starters and 2 Stakes winners. Big chance.I bet the 5-8 across theboard andthen box those two in the exacta. I will key the 5-8 over/under the 2-6-3-1-7 in two smaller units.

10th: 8-2/7-6/1-4-3Movie Moxy (8)is myKey Play of the Day.This 3YO daughter of Street Sense lost by a neck last time out and returns as a beaten favorite here. Barn wins with .31% of them. Work on Sept. 21 was spot on. This one cost $225,000 at the 2018 KEE September Yearling Sale and looks primed and edgy. My solo pick.I bet the 8 to win/place/show and then box the 8-2 in the exacta. I will key the 8 over/under the rest of the numbers listed in two smaller units.

Good Luck & All the Best / Gene

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Final Version: McLean's Selections for Churchill Downs on Friday, Sept. 25 - The Pressbox

The Record

Despite the economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, Shearwater has continued to experience robust growth and strong home sales. Since the start of the outbreak this spring, the northern St. Johns County master-planned community has developed two new neighborhoods, received a coveted Gold Nugget Merit Award, expanded its community management team and continued to offer safe recreational programming for residents.

We are seeing a significant trend in more people making remote working situations permanent, which allows families to move to locations where they actually want to live, said Suzanne Maddalon, vice president of marketing at Freehold Communities. St. Johns County, widely known for its great school district and high quality of life, has seen a serious increase in housing demand in master-planned communities. We are pleased that Shearwater strengthens this appeal by offering a community with all of the qualities and conveniences of an established town combined with a desirable selection of new homes and a rich mix of resort-style amenities and lifestyle programming.

Shearwater also reported increased home sales since the onset of the pandemic, putting them on track to outperform 2019sales. With increased buyer interest in master plans, Shearwater has expanded exponentially to keep up with the demand.

Lennar and David Weekley Homes began development on two neighborhoods in Shearwater this summer, expanding upon the communitys current quality home designs from six leading builders.

In the new Timberline neighborhood, Lennar is selling two-story luxury townhomes ranging in size from approximately 1,611 to1,751 square feet of thoughtfully designed living space. Potential buyers have four different floor plans to choose from, each featuring two to three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The townhomes also offer Lennars signature Everythings Includedprogram with upgraded features at no extra cost. Pricing starts from the $250s.

Award-winning builder David Weekley Homes is selling two distinct series of homes in The Hammocks. Priced from the $270s, the Discovery Series offers one- and two-story homes situated on 40-foot homesites. The open-concept homes range in size from approximately 1,613 to 2,374 square feet with rear-loading garages, three to five bedrooms and two to three and a half bathrooms.

Buyers have seven different floor plan options to choose from, each featuring LifeDesign benefits.

One- and two-story homes in the Designer Series offer five different award-winning floor plans situated on 40-foot homesites. Priced from the $280s, the homes range in size from approximately 1,797-2,340 square feet with two to five bedrooms and two to three and a half bathrooms. Each of the homes feature front-load garages, open concept living spaces and spacious lanais.

A panel of top industry experts named Shearwater an Award of Merit winner for Best Community Land Plan in the 2020 Gold Nugget Awards. The annual awards program is the largest and most prestigious of its kind in the nation, honoring innovative architecture, planning and construction concepts that solve fundamental building industry needs to improve communities.

In the programs 57th year, judges selected grand and merit winners in more than 50 categories from a field of roughly 575 U.S. and international entries, including single-family productions, custom homes, interior design, commercial, renovated projects, mixed-use, affordable, multifamily and site planning. The winners showcase the most exciting trends in design, planning and building.

Expanded management team

Due to community growth and an increased number of households, Shearwater expanded its community management team with the appointment of Dylan Read to assistant manager. He previously served as lifestyle director and now assists in handling community operations, including covenants enforcement, design review and facility maintenance.

To fill Reads vacated role, Remy Pugh was hired as the new lifestyle director. She is responsible for year-round community lifestyle programming, encouraging homeowners to engage with their neighbors and motivating residents to build long-lasting relationships. Pugh is also tasked with ensuring the highest level of satisfaction amongst residents.

Meticulously designed for modern-day living, Shearwaters resort-style amenities and vibrant lifestyle programming have remained front and center throughout the pandemic.

At the start of stay-at-home orders, Shearwater utilized social media, virtual platforms and other resources to help residents stay connected and offer support during the public health crisis. Since those restrictions have started to lift, the community has shifted gears to resume hosting some socially distanced community events with new precautions and safety protocols in place.

Most recently, Shearwater delivered a variety of kits for residents to enjoy on their own, including build-your-own-cocktail kits, lifestyle busy kits and relaxation kits for parents as kids head back to school. Shearwater also hosted a movie night on the lawn and a blood drive event with local food trucks. Additional programming is confirmed for the remainder of the year.

Located at 100 Kayak Way in St. Augustine, Shearwateroffers home designs from Drees Homes, David Weekley Homes, Lennar, MasterCraft Builder Group, Dream Finders Homes and Toll Brothers.To learn more, visit ShearwaterLiving.com.

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Alive and thriving: Shearwater continues robust growth amid pandemic - St. Augustine Record

From Veranda

Ah, blue and white: classic and timeless, traditional or modern, jaunty yet soothing. When it comes to contemporary interiors, the color combination is perhaps most associated with California designer Mark D. Sikes, who achieved acclaim early on in his design career for his use of blue and white at his own Hollywood Hills home, featured on the cover of House Beautiful in 2012 and then, after being redone, in VERANDA in 2014.

It seems only fitting, then, that Sikes would pay tribute to perhaps the most famous blue-and-white room in design history: the living room at La Fiorentina in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. Good news, design history enthusiasts: that moment has come, at the inaugural Kips Bay Dallas Decorator Show House, which is open to the public from September 25 through October 25 with limited in-person and virtual tour options available.

Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch

Assigned the show house's living room, which Sikes has dubbed "Casa Fiorentina," the designer was struck by how certain elements of the space's existing architecture (its sweep of French doors and the dramatic dark stone fireplace surround) recalled similarities to the iconic living room on the Cte d'Azur.

"It's one of my favorite homes of all time, not just how beautiful it is but all of the amazing designers, from Rory Cameron, Billy Baldwin, David Hickseven Hubert de Givenchy and Bunny Mellonwho are a part of the story," says Sikes. "It was such a glamorous place."

Photo credit: Courtesy of Mark D. Sikes

"My interpretation honors the essence of the timeless La Fiorentina while being reimagined with a Texas twist," says Sikes. "It continues the tradition of casual ease and elegance its namesake is known for."

According to Alexandra Lloyd Properties, La Fiorentina was built in 1917 by the Countess Therese de Beauchamp on a vast piece of land [that] occupies the extreme end of the Saint Hospice point of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula. In partnership with Harold Peto, architects Aaron and Gaston Messiah began the work on the Palladian-style villa; it was completed by Ferdinand Bac before being sold first to Sir Edmund Davis, then Lady Kenmare in 1939.

Lady Kenmare's son, Roderick "Rory" Cameron, was the first designer to truly put his personal stamp on La Fiorentina, from its interiors to its gardens. While he and his mother were there, the villa became one of the most glamorous destinations in the world, a must-stop for the most stylish people of the day.

Story continues

Photo credit: Henry Clarke

Photo credit: Henry Clarke

In 1969, La Fiorentina changed hands once again when Lady Kenmare sold it to advertising executive Mary Wells Lawrence and her husband, Harding Lawrence, president of Braniff International Airlines, who hired decorator Billy Baldwin to revitalize the seaside villa.

Baldwin's redecoration of La Fiorentina has been the most influential of the villa's many periods, yet his touch was rather light. The iconic American decorator, who kept many of the furnishings, including the mirror over the living room fireplace, said of his work, "We have simply reshot it in color."

It was that shot of colorclear, sky blue cotton slipcovered upholstery; a darker blue-and-white checkerboard French woven rug; blue-and-white Chinese porcelainsthat continues to influence designers today.

Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch

Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch

In Sikes's Dallas tribute, pleated ivory curtains with tiebacks trimmed in blue tape (all fabricated by The Shade Store) and lantern lighting (by Paul Ferrante) are pages from Cameron's style playbook for La Fiorentina, but the sky blue slipcovers, scaled-up geometric rug, Chinese porcelain collections, and French baskets are pure Baldwin.

Of course, any tribute worth its salt includes a few new elements, and Sikes's rendition is no different. Covering the walls with an Iksel wallpaper that mimics the look of blue-and-white tiles infuses a layered, and perhaps more traditional, twist into the Baldwin-inspired scheme.

Furthermore, Sikes's incorporation of antique mahogany and walnut furniture and a massive 17th-century Italian painting over the sofa lends a decidedly old-world air and a certain gravitas that stands in contrast to Baldwin's breezy, modern design.

Photo credit: Horst P. Horst

Sikes is by no means the first designer to be inspired by the French villa, particularly Baldwin's design for its living room. One of the most beautifully executed rooms with nods to Baldwin's La Fiorentina is designer Bunny Williams's living room at La Colina, her iconic-in-its-own-right home in the Dominican Republic.

Jacksonville- and Atlanta-based designer Phoebe Howard, well known for her own brilliant command of blues, has also paid homage to La Fiorentina in several rooms, including the living room featured on the cover of her book Room by Room (Abrams, 2015).

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This Florida dream home has an amazing outdoor kitchen and designer touches - Real Homes