This Yard Deserves a "Gold Star"
By Mike Hickman
The landscape of your home: a playground for the kids, an owner’s retreat, a status symbol to your neighbors, the final touch on your sanctuary!
What was once a casual endeavor to make one’s home attractive has now become a science of water conservation, native plantings and low maintenance design. This is evident with the County Extension Service’s promotion of “Florida Friendly Yards and Neighborhoods” and more recently with the South West Florida Water Management District’s (SWFMD) “Florida Water Star Gold Certi cation Program.”
The SWFMD certification program is a comprehensive analysis of all things related to water use in and outside your home. The gold-tier level
of the program addresses such things as the percentage of lawn area to planted beds, low volume irrigation, native plantings properly spaced for long-term growth, innovative water conserving features in the yard such as cisterns, rain barrels, permeable driveway pavers and drainage systems. It also addresses water use inside the home; recommending “WaterSense” faucets, low flush commodes, braided water lines, insulated water lines and “WaterSense” appliances, to name a few items.
To demonstrate all of these features, Susan Douglas, Water Star Coordinator for SWFMD, has worked hand-in-hand with our efforts at the Polk County Builders Association Foundation “Go Green” Home. The home is one of the first in Central Florida to achieve Gold level status and will be of ficially opened to the public on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 5 p.m. If you would like to see this innovative landscape design and other cutting edge home technology, please join us at our celebration at this Open House.
The “Go Green” Home, located at 4322 Tokose Place, Morgan Creek Preserve in South Lakeland, is for sale. All of the proceeds will benefit the Polk County Builders Association Foundation, a 501(c)3, for the support of their Future Builders of America program and student scholarships. For additional information, contact the Polk County Builders Association at 863-665-0844 or Hickman Homes at 863-646-1166, or look us up at www.hickmanhomes.net.
Mike Hickman is President of Hickman Homes Inc. and the 2009 Chairman of the Future Builders of
America.
Highlights
PolkHomes - Saturday, September 5, 2009
This home uses techniques recommended by the South Florida Water Management District (SWFMD) to provide low water usage at maximum results in the yard and in the house.
- SWMD Gold Tier Level certification
- Low volume irrigation
- Native plantings
- Innovative water conserving features
- "WaterSense" faucets and fixtures
- Low flush commodes
- Braided and insulated water lines
- Located at Morgan Creek Preserve
- Proceeds help Future Builders of America