FW: Mr. Epstein
Alan,
Mr. Epstein wrote this e mail to me a few minutes ago and wanted me to forward it to you.
He also asked me to add a note that you will need to think about your future
emad „ i looked at the landscape job this morning „ I. the palm trees on the pool side near the house have not been trimmed.. the bougainvilleas on the garage need trimming , they are not flowering, 3. we need more mulch around the house pipes are showing and an irrigation head needs to be painted , ( it is bright white ).. I find tools left in the dirt. , weeds throughout the bromiliads. the windblown leaves have not been cut off there is little color by the pool. maybe too much water. we need different pots. , the little flowers by the doors need to be changed they are leggy and really a summer flower.. After spending a quarter of a million dollars i would expect better and higher quality maintenance.
Emad Hanna
Emad,
I have a gardener on the grounds on Wednesday and Friday. One is there now and has been instructed to complete these tasks today:
Clean small seed off the 3 pool coconut palms.
Clean any weeds in the two Bromeliad beds as well as groom plants with windblown leaves.
Trim the very top of the garage Bougainvillea. We trimmed the mass last week but there are a few long stems near the roof eave which we will get today.
We will lay mulch atop any exposed drip irrigation lines by Friday. Sprinkler heads are found in the lawn area in the south walled garden only. They are pop-ups and should only be exposed when in service. I will need an explanation for what specifically needs to be done with these.
We are not getting flower in the Bougainvillea because they tend to bloom much more consistently and abundantly in the mid Fall thru late Spring seasons. They exhibit more vegetative growth in the long, wet and hot days of summertime. The entire Bougainvillea population, with exception to the crop over the garage bays, is in the pool area. They are irrigated with a drip style irrigation system. The drip hoses only produce about a gallon of water per hour from each orifice and each orifice has a 1' interval space. We get good but not excessive coverage. Also, Bougainvillea really don't like constant water whether it be from the rain or irrigation system. The population looks very good but they are not showing much color now. We have also let them vegetatively grow without any pruning as per Mr. Epstein's request. He wanted the stand to be more natural and wild. I will need some guidance from Mr. Epstein as to how long do I let them grow. Bougainvillea grows very rapidly during the summer months and can exhibit stem lengths of 6-10' in a relatively short time. These stems will not stand upright however will flop over into the pool deck and seating areas. Bougainvillea stems have numerous teeth and can create a hazard.
I am meeting with Mr. Epstein tomorrow at 10am. I will discuss these issues with him, including the flowering plants near the doors. I presume he is referring to the purple flowering Pentas. They tend to last about 2 years. We might need to add a few more to thicken up the mass. They are under the 2 pool Coconut palms. I have not added any plant materials to existing pots around the grounds. However, there are some Bromeliad and Orchid species in the pool area and elsewhere. I have moved these on occasion to shadier locations because they do not like the sun, especially in the summer months.
In regard to the dollar figure quoted... Maintenance is $1500.00 per month with some minor exceptions to infrequently added materials or services... mulch, pest control services, etc. We spend 2 days a week there. This is not an adequate amount of time if we are to keep up with emerging Coconut palm seed (they seed regularly with commonly exhibiting 6-8 generations of seed on one unpruned tree), weekly Ficus trimming, weekly Bougainvillea trimming and insect controls and the other weekly functions of the maintenance plan. The pruning tasks take labor hours away from other ground work. Only 3 years ago, we spent 3 days a week there with as much a landscape as we have there is now. We cut back to 8 hours a week when the property was in transition, post hurricane time. I want Mr. Epstein to be excited and pleased with his grounds. But we have added alot of fast growing plants during the past 2 years of reconstruction... Ficus, Bougainvillea and palms in particular, that require more labor hours and attention than past gardens. I suggest we can satisfy Mr. Epstein's demands and expectations with the grounds if we had another half or full day to the week. This is not chumming up new business but simply a fact of the maintenance program. The maintenance program is highly dependent upon the hours spent on the property. We have well trained gardeners who know what to do. We have supervisors who regularly walk the grounds to organize the weekly and monthly tasks as well a6 inspect for any early signs of plant problems. We need, however, a bit more time to accomplish all of those requested and regular tasks during each week of the year.
Thank you for forwarding the letter.
alan stopek
efflorescence
Jeffrey,
Below is Stopek’s response to what I forwarded to him per your request.
It’s a bit long