Property Management

May 10, 2024 Published by London and Area Chapter - By Trish Kaplan

Keep Your Shirts On

From the CCI Review 2023/2024-3 March 2024 issue of the CCI London Chapter

The winter wasn’t too bad (to my mind, at least), but we are ready for a beautiful summertime (undoubtedly, on Mother Nature’s terms).

Keep your shirt on though. Chris Scott, chief meteorologist with the Weather Network says that “El Niňo is fading and La Niña appears to be getting ready to take the stage as we head towards summer and therefore, we expect the spring will feature profound mood swings across Canada as periods of late winter-like weather will interrupt our journey towards consistent warm weather.” Don’t put your jackets away too soon.

We all have a responsibility to protect the ecosystem. Knowing when to start and how to spring clean exclusive use garden areas, where they may be the owners’ responsibility (depending on governing documents) can be your response.

Many pollinators overwinter in the dead material you may want to remove; however, by waiting to do yard and garden cleanup and protecting pollinators, you will be saving bees and butterflies. A good rule of thumb is to wait until temperatures are consistently about 50 degrees F. (10 C.). This will help protect habitat in the spring and ensure you have a robust and healthy pollinator population and overall garden ecosystem in the community.

Serious gardeners will be educated in what to watch for and how to proceed. Butterflies, ladybugs, assassin bugs, and other beneficial insects nest in piles of leaf matter that you can move to a corner of your garden to leave undisturbed for a while. Don’t smother the soil in beds with mulch until it is generally warm to avoid blocking in-ground nesting bees and other insects.

In Ontario, spring weather started early with above-normal temperatures for a lot of January and February. “That is a preview of what is to come. We expect that warmerthan- normal temperatures will dominate the season,” Gillham wrote. However, he added, the mild spring “will be moody at times” with periods of colder-than-normal temperatures and a risk for significant late-winter-like weather, “which will test our patience as we wait for more consistent warm weather.”

Tip: Start your spring maintenance by scheduling an A/C maintenance check.

There has been a lot of unpredictability with weather during March in Ontario, but there is also concern for “increasingly dry conditions” to develop during the second half of the season, Gillham added.

Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. (Joyce Meyer)

The weather will have to be the guide to getting our hands dirty without compromising the ecosystem to create the beauty we would all like to enjoy.

May you enjoy every moment that you spend beautifying your space. Remember to review your corporation’s documents relating to planting on common elements – for exclusive use in advance of getting a start.

Trish Kaplan, CCI (Hon’s) is the parttime Administrator of the Chapter.; having served in the position from April 2003 to September 2010. She received the CCI Distinguished Service Award from CCI National in November 2006.

Trish served as a director on the chapter board from 2010-2015 and was subsequently returned to the position of Administrator.

Trish is a condominium owner, served as a director in the corporation she resides in for a time and is a retired condominium manager. Her experience in different areas of condominium continues to be a benefit to the chapter and its members.