There’s something about longer days and warmer temperatures that brings out the inner gardener in people. Even those with a “brown thumb” begin to envision lush, green yards with rich foliage and beautiful colors. Spring just seems to make people want to dig holes and add beauty to their environment.

Many residents enjoy planting colorful new flowers each spring, whether in the ground or in containers, to beautify walkways or porches. Others feel that their yard needs a little uplift by pruning and sprucing up. Maybe the need is to replace plants that are just looking a bit worn or to fill in bare areas. How about planting a vegetable garden?

New homeowners may want to make the landscaping “their own” by taking out present plants and replacing them with something that suits them rather than previous owners. There are even several brand new homes in the community that will need entire yards landscaped. Whatever the reason, planting new foliage is a great way to welcome spring!

One reason Canyon Lake is so lush and beautiful is that homeowners are required by the Property Owners Association to maintain landscaping in a “neat, clean and attractive condition.” It is important to remember that there are certain guidelines that homeowners must adhere to when landscaping. Softscape (flowers, grass, bushes and trees) is generally at the homeowner’s discretion, although there are some rules with regard to tree location. Because some hardscape (raised planters, walls and walkways) must be approved, it is best to check with the Planning and Compliance Department prior to beginning the project. The CCRs with regard to landscaping can be found in the Architectural Guidelines, “Section VII – Landscaping” and can be viewed at canyonlakepoa.com.

There are several considerations to be made before heading out to the nursery. Experts recommend a walk around the areas to plant to observe the type of soil, terrain, sunlight and water availability. Remember to factor seasonal changes regarding sun position and amount of daylight. Take soil samples and draw a diagram to bring with you.

• Consider irrigation. Think about sprinklers currently in place and what will need to be added or changed. How much hand-watering will be necessary.

• What about sun and shade? Different plants have different light requirements. Many types of plants cannot tolerate the hot summer sun in Canyon Lake and will burn or die. The direction a yard faces will factor in the amount and intensity of sunlight plants will receive. It’s important to note how the angle and amount of sun throughout the seasons will affect plants. A west-facing yard will get the most intense afternoon sun and heat during the summer months. A north-facing yard may get very little sunlight during winter.

• When choosing new plants, water conservation is important. The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District is asking that residents conserve water this summer. Their website (evmwd.com) has a list of drought tolerant plants and water-saving tips for Canyon Lakers.

• It is very important to know what type of soil the plants will be going in. Most of Canyon Lake is made up of clay and rock, which is difficult to dig and not ideal for plant nutrition.

After a layout is decided, the soil must be treated to best accommodate new plants and acclimate them to their new location. Different plants require different types of fertilizers and/or organic matter (such as peat moss), so it’s best to refer to experts for the proper choices. It’s also important to keep ground water from escaping too quickly. There are several options including mulch, rocks or wood chips.

• With the vastly different terrains within the community, it’s important to think about drainage, especially on hillsides (which may drain too much) or flat yards (which may pool and not drain at all).

• Where to purchase plants is another decision. Local nurseries will have plants that are already acclimated to the area. Nurseries will usually have a larger and better selection than the big box stores, but may not have as good a return/exchange policies. Home Depot and Lowe’s will exchange plants for up to a year. Be sure to ask.

Choosing plants

Finally, the fun part – choosing the plants. The options are endless. Many people enjoy a tropical look, especially in a lake community. However, in an area that is considered desert, the best choices aren’t always obvious or clearcut. Canyon Lake summer days are dry and often over 100 degrees with intense sunlight. Winters are mostly dry and nighttime temperatures can occasionally drop to below freezing. The ground in the community is made up of mostly clay or rock, so conditions are not perfect.

When making decisions about landscaping, there are a few questions that need to be answered first. What is the “feeling” to be portrayed by the yard. It’s best to create some sort of uniformity in landscaping. Does a dessert yucca tree work well next to a tropical banana tree? Think about the views from the street, walkway, driveway and even from inside the home.

Most experts recommend that the tallest shrubs be placed to the back or up against the house, with the smallest to the front or near walkways. It’s usually preferable for the eye to travel to the rear and have all plants in sight.

A good way to decide is to take a drive around the community and see what other residents have done. See what is thriving. Take pictures of favorites and show them as examples to nursery representatives.

Trees that are popular in Canyon Lake include Queen and Banana Palms for a tropical look, and Willow, Pepper and Crape Myrtle for a more classic country garden feeling. Bushes and/or shrubs that do well include Robellini palms, Hibiscus, Manzanita and Deer Grass. Bougainvillea, Schefflera, Philodendron and Asparagus ferns are also popular and do well. Bamboo does well in the community but must be monitored carefully or it can get out of control and spread rapidly.

For a little color, try California Poppies, Cleveland Sage, Gazanias, English Lavender, Lilac, Monkey Flowers and Daylillies. Rose bushes seem to do especially well in Canyon Lake. Although these are popular in Canyon Lake, the list of options is long, so it’s wise to research before making a final decision.

Many plants do well in pots. The advantage is they can be moved as necessary for temperature, sunlight or to create an atmosphere. They can also be brought indoors.

Spring is here. It’s the best time to plant, so make good decisions and have fun getting dirty, Then step back to admire the beauty of nature and a job well done!

HOLIDAY — The auctioneer halted his chant for a moment and eyed the 14 people sitting on the ledge of the concrete block building.

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“No need for me to just keep talking to myself,” Louis Fisher said. “Is there any interest at all?”

As it turned out, there was someone who wanted the 5-acre Y-shaped parcel, which once was home to a working WTSP-TV transmitter and 100-foot-tall Doppler radar tower, along with two maintenance buildings and a home for the station employee in charge of overseeing the tower.

Scott Moro, a 28-year-old sales supervisor at a Tampa used car lot, was the winning bidder at Thursday’s auction, though he had nominal competition from one neighbor for the house. He got land and buildings for a grand total of $19,800 including fees.

“I have some ideas,” said the tanned, blond surfer who wore black shades and sipped a bottle of Mountain Dew. He said it included tearing down the commercial buildings and replacing them with homes. The property sits on Solar Drive, in the middle of Holiday Lakes Estates, a neighborhood of two-bedroom homes that lured Northern retirees in the 1960s and ’70s. Moro said his father lives several blocks away and that he decided to try to buy the land after driving by the sites one day during a visit.

Moro made headlines in 2006, when he and two friends were charged with holding up a Tampa pharmacy at gunpoint and taking $220,000 of OxyContin. They were arrested three weeks later in Lee County. Moro pleaded guilty to reduced charges and received probation, according to court records.

The property is unique because of its unusual shape and the fact that much of it abuts more than 60 residents’ yards.

The television station bought it in about 1999, said Johnnie Popwell, an employee at WTSP, which is based St. Petersburg and broadcasts across the Tampa Bay market. It stopped using the towers when the federal government required television stations to switch from analog to digital transmission. It now uses a tower in Riverview that Popwell said allows for better coverage.

“The property is basically abandoned,” Popwell said, though the station continued to mow the lawn and maintain the landscaping at a cost of about $700 a month.

The station had also let residents use the small space that abutted their yards for free.

Bill Menish, regional director for the auction company Sperry Van Ness, said the station recently contacted the company to sell it. He said WTSP didn’t set a minimum bid.

“They said sell it to the highest bidder,” he said “They just wanted to get rid of it.”

The sale drew a handful of curious residents eager to see who held their property values’ fate in his or her hands.

“We hope it’ll be clean and easy,” said Peggy Hamann, who moved to the area with her family about 11 years ago.

Moro promised he wouldn’t play any dirty tricks, such as erecting an unsightly fence and “offering” residents the chance to buy land for exorbitant prices.

“I hope everybody will have the chance to make their back yards bigger,” he said.

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report.

Panel examines 12 suggestions for the park’s southwest quadrant and approves two: bike paths and landscaping.

By Bradley Zint

April 3, 2014 | 7:13 p.m.

At one point Wednesday evening, Richard Mehren wondered aloud if any of the 34 ideas suggested for Fairview Park last summer were going to be discussed, much less happen.

As the chairman of the park’s citizens advisory committee led the conversation for possible additions to the park’s 95-acre southwest quadrant, he saw idea after idea receiving little feedback and consequently being scrapped.

“Thirty-four items, and we don’t get anybody standing up for them,” said Mehren, a retired dentist.

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Twelve of those items were debated Wednesday, with two receiving preliminary approvals: improving bike paths and planting more native and drought-tolerant landscaping.

Among the 10 discarded ideas was a nature center with bird-watching platforms. The group was split in February on adding such platforms in the park’s northwest quadrant.

Similar concerns were raised about the platforms again, particularly if they would be used as a hangout for illegal activity.

Committee member Terry Cummings questioned a need for them and if they would be effective for watching birds.

“A platform would be like fishing,” he said. “You’re always in the wrong spot.”

Committee member Ron Amburgey pointed out what he saw as a contradiction: The park’s nature activists seem “perfectly fine” with having the Harbor Soaring Society there — whose powered airplanes noisily whir about the sky — yet couldn’t express enthusiasm for bird-watching platforms.

The group also rejected adding an archery field, skate and dog parks, and roller hockey surface.

Resident Cindy Black called the roller hockey suggestion “ridiculous … that and the archery. I don’t know whose bright idea that was.”

A dog park in Fairview was suggested years ago, though ultimately rejected, Mehren said.

“If it’s been taken out, leave it out,” said resident Margaret Mooney, who called the idea “destruction of the park.”

Amburgey, quipping that he was “speaking on behalf of all those dogs in the city,” said he would favor adding a dog park, but elsewhere in Fairview Park.

The Bark Park on the other end of town, near the Orange County Fairgrounds, is very popular, he said, and the city’s Westside could use one as well.

In March, for the southwest quadrant, the committee rejected plans for softball/baseball fields, basketball/handball courts and soccer fields. They approved ideas for adding picnic structures, improving information kiosks and better protection of the vernal pools.

*

Letters pour in

The committee was flooded with nearly 50 letters from various people asking for more athletic fields in Costa Mesa — a change from most of the correspondence the committee receives asking that the 208-acre park be kept as passive open space.

The letters, sent between March 6 and April 2, primarily came from parents whose children participate in Back Bay Rugby at Parsons Field, a school district-owned facility next to Fairview Park.

They wrote that the city could use more athletic field space, but did not specify that the fields be added to Fairview Park.

“I support proposing more playing fields here in Costa Mesa,” wrote Ilene Herman. “My daughter plays for Back Bay Rugby, and they currently share one field for their practices with sometimes up to four other teams per day/night, including rugby and Pop Warner football. It is becoming very crowded.”

Mel Kong, however, wrote that Fairview Park should remain natural: “We don’t need another playground or parking lot. We need green space. A place to listen to the wind and watch the clouds. A place to be one with the creator.”